The remarkable 16-strong Chamber Choir Ireland could sing the telephone directory and make it sound festive. Anyone who can turn a carol as hackneyed as O Come, All Ye Faithful into something not only bearable but vigorous and uplifting deserves high praise. The mix of plainchant, Irish, America, British and “Alpine” repertoire, with a graceful contribution from Gerald Barry merrily entitled Carol, is sung with freshness and gleaming clarity. Nothing saccharine here, and even Ding Dong Merrily On High ends with a wry, jazzy suspension. An alternative in terms of old and new, from Praetorius to John Tavener, is Lux de caelo: Music for Christmas, sung by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, with the Dmitri Ensemble, directed by Graham Ross (Harmonia Mundi).
