As well as the new Michael Berkeley carol for Kings (see my previous blog post) there are a number of contemporary music Christmas options to consider in December. On 2nd December the BBC Singers give an Advent concert at St Giles’ Cripplegate that includes music by John Tavener, Judith Weir, Gabriel Jackson, Cecilia McDowall and Owain Park. On the same day at the Barbican there is a chance to hear Neil Brand’s setting of Dickens’ Christmas Carol for spoken voices and orchestra. The work is very family friendly, as can be heard here.
An excellent alternative to Messiah is John Adams’ retelling of the nativity story in El Niño. Adams himself combined the libretto from a number of sources, from ‘pre-Christian prophets to twentieth century Hispanic female writers’ to form a two-hour opera-oratorio. It seems that Adams himself is touring this work around Europe this December; I have found three performances, in London on 4th, Amsterdam on 10th, and Paris on 11th. There may be others.
At St. Davids Hall, Cardiff on 4th December The Sixteen look beyond December to Epiphany with a concert that examines music inspired by the Three Kings. The programme includes music from the renaissance to the present day. At Milton Court Hall, London meanwhile, on 13th the BBC Singers give a concert that includes seasonal music by its conductor Bob Chilcott as well as pieces by Britten, Rutter and James Lord Pierpont.