Album: Tenebrae, What Sweeter Music: Songs And Carols For Christmas (Signum Classics)

This Christmas collection from Nigel Short's chamber choir Tenebrae is comprised of three strands: traditional carols, festive favourites, and newer pieces including a trio of songs by John Rutter, and Jonathan Rathbone's setting of Thomas Hardy's poem The Oxen.

Rutter's title-track perhaps shows off the choir's tonal blend to best effect, while Karl Jenkins' arrangement of "Gaudete" brings a brief burst of ebullience amid the piety. Two tracks which set the album apart: the superbly-measured arrangement of the Appalachian folk tune "I Wonder As I Wander", and Rathbone's splendid arrangement of "Silent Night".

Download this Silent Night; What Sweeter Music?; Gaudete; I Wonder As I Wander