No other festival in the Christian year has inspired so many tunes. Who could imagine Christmas without its rich tradition of music, from Bach to Bing Crosby, Slade to While Shepherds Watched? While many try to decide who is in their Christmas bubble, cathedral choirs up and down the country are hastily recording carol services and midnight masses so they can bring the spirit of Christmas into homes.
The best carols are ones that embrace basic emotions with words and music that are simple and approachable. That's why I love traditional carols unadulterated by fussy arrangements and descants, although there's one arrangement that is a family favourite: who cannot but smile and dance to David Willcocks' infectious Sussex Carol? The carol originated as a round dance (the word is from the old French "carole", a circle dance accompanied by singers), and with medieval carols, such as Make we joy now in this fest, everyone was encouraged to dance. Even the monks could join in, as long as they didn't lift their feet too far off the ground.
No Christmas playlist could be without something from Handel's Messiah and Bach's Christmas Oratorio, by two kings of the baroque, so I am not going to disappoint there, but how about something from the French king of the baroque, Charpentier? The Credo from his Messe de Minuit portrays Christ's birth with cheerful happiness, and its dance-like energy is brilliantly captured by Marc Minkowski.
But I will always return to the music of the Renaissance to soak up this most unique season; the sonorities in Jean Mouton's Nesciens Mater are so warming, and so evocative of a mother suckling her child.
It is not only vocal music that conveys the spirit and magical atmosphere of Christmas. Instrumental music can be pictorial as well, especially in the hands of Ottorino Respighi. His large orchestral forces bring to life The Adoration of the Magi, but contrast that with old harps inviting us to dance to The Reel of Tullochgorum or Liszt's beautiful piano piece Die Hirten an der Krippe (The Shepherds at the Manger).
Gallery: ABBA forever! (dw.com)
I've indulged myself by including some brilliant tracks by friends of mine: Bob Chilcott's Twelve Days of Christmas; Gryphon's Pastime With Good Company (it's not a Christmas carol but I can't imagine Henry VIII not getting his minstrels to perform his own work at his Christmas banquet), with the simply beautiful voice of Grace Davidson (who happens also to be on my version of Wither's Rocking Hymn). I'm also a sucker for Christmas films, and Home Alone is where I was introduced to the Carol of the Bells by John Williams. (Also, how can one resist a spot of the Muppets?)
I cannot allow Christmas 2020 to pass without paying tribute to St Thomas Becket; this year is the 850th anniversary of his martyrdom and Piffarissimo's instrumental rendition of the medieval carol in his honour brilliantly captures a legacy of centuries past. Canterbury Cathedral is a very special place for me - I was a chorister there and remember so well singing Britten's Ceremony of Carols in the Chapter House with the irrepressible Allan Wicks, our choirmaster, injecting such energy and excitement into our performance. Our mouths worked overtime in This Little Babe.
It is going to be some time before musicians - like everyone else - can get back to any sense of normality, but we are busy planning what we do next. One thing I am particularly looking forward to is working with Dobrinka Tabakova - an exciting new voice from whom the Sixteen has commissioned a new work. You can hear a taste of her music on her 2016 carol Of a Rose Sing We.
It only remains for me to wish you all a very happy Christmas in which peace, love, goodwill and good health may prosper.
Harry Christophers and the Sixteen's Choral Odyssey, five films blending music and documentary, presented by Simon Russell Beale, is released weekly up to 23 December, with all films available on demand until 31 January.