The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, who were founded in the 15th century, is undoubtedly one of the world’s best known choral groups – and their festive concerts have become internationally famous. One of the carols on which they excel is “Ding Dong Merrily on High,” which originated as a French dance tune. The lyrics, which include the stirring Latin line “Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis,” were written by English composer George Ratcliffe Woodward. It’s a gorgeous traditional carol. Choir Of King’s College, Cambridge: O Come All Ye Faithful That most improbable of things: a post-punk Christmas album, that features Aztec Camera doing a Django Reinhardt-inspired instrumental, a selection of Factory Records alumni and San Franciscan oddballs Tuxedomoon. The Durutti Column’s implausibly beautiful Snowflakes is a standout. 17. James Brown – Hey America (1970)

The lyrics for this carol were written by Massachusetts pastor Edmund Sears and refer to ideas of war and peace. The most common musical setting was adapted from an English melody in 1874 by Arthur Sullivan. Christine Schäfer, Bernarda Fink, Werner Güra, Gerald Finley, Christian Gerhaher; Arnold Schoenberg Choir; Concentus Musicus Wien/Nikolaus Harnoncourt Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 8869711225-2Right after World War II, when Muddy Waters was roughing up the blues in Chicago, Charles Brown was smoothing them out in Los Angeles. In 1947, he wrote and sang the most enduring R&B Christmas song ever penned, “Merry Christmas, Baby,” (though the credit went to his bandleader Johnny Moore), later the basis for one of Elvis Presley’s greatest performances. He also sang and wrote “Please Come Home for Christmas,” another timeless standard. Never has an artist been better served by the December holiday. —Geoffrey Himes A perfectly balanced seasonal feast, where kitsch – I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas – coexists with heartbreak set to weeping pedal steel guitar on Christmas Makes Me Cry, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer meets A Willie Nice Christmas, a weed-addled duet with Willie Nelson that urges listeners to get “higher than the angel on top of the tree”. 11. Loretta Lynn – Country Christmas (1966) The Sixteen/Harry Christophers, Alexandra Kidgell, Edward McMullan, Mark Dobell, Robert Macdonald, Ben Davies, Rob Macdonald, Katy Hill, Tim Jones, Charlotte Mobbs, George Pooley Coro COR16188 Also known as ‘Hymn for Christmas Day’, this 19th-century English carol was written by Edward Caswall with music by Sir John Goss, an organist at St Paul’s Cathedral and a professor at the Royal Academy of Music.

A vibrant, limpid performance of Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols (the four-part version) sits at the heart of a new album by the mixed-voice Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. Conductor Graham Ross relishes the lustiness of ‘Wolcum Yole!’ without allowing scrappiness, and ‘There is no rose’ has a wealth of alluringly contoured dynamic detail. Tanya Houghton’s harp playing is unfailingly sensitive. No fewer than half the choir’s two-dozen members step out for solos, revealing the in-depth quality of Earley’s singers. The glowing tonal blend that he elicits is a constant pleasure, and there’s a real emotional connection in the performances.

29. The First Nowell

A Holly Jolly Christmas” was also written by the late Johnny Marks, a former Bronze Star-winning soldier who went on to become a songwriter. He was one of the best writers of modern Christmas carols. As well as “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” Marks wrote “Run, Rudolph, Run” and “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Burl Ives, an accomplished actor whose girth and beard made him look like Santa, actually recorded two versions of “A Holly Jolly Christmas.” It is the slower one, released in October 1965, that proved to be so successful. The single was produced by Milt Gabler and arranged by Owen Bradley, who also conducted the orchestra at Brooklyn Studios. The Temptations: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer The O Antiphons of English composer Christopher Fox were first performed complete by the Choir of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge in March this year, and recorded a few days later. They form the centrepiece of Alpha & O, a disc which also includes music by Judith Weir, Diana Burrell and Jeremy Thurlow.