<img src='' title='Event Category: Christmas' alt='' id='templ_icon_' width='' height='' /> Event Category: Christmas

Ex Cathedra: Christmas Music by Candlelight

Chamber choir Ex Cathedra presents a candlelit sequence of Christmas music: a quietly beautiful celebration of mystery, wonder and the deep, quiet heart of this magical season.

Imagine a carol concert with an unforgettable difference. In the deep, still darkness of St Martin-in-the-Fields, only candles pierce the winter twilight. And then, upon the silence, comes the luminous sound of a choir in harmony: familiar melodies, magical discoveries and readings to make you smile as well as reflect. Ex Cathedra’s Christmas concerts are both a well-kept secret and a cherished tradition, unmistakably seasonal but aimed – in these loud and anxious times – at the eternal peace of the Christmas story. This year, encounter the mystery as well as the merriment, and reconnect with the timeless wonder of the season. Once experienced, it’s never forgotten.

The Sixteen: Messiah

Handel’s Messiah meets Harry Christophers and The Sixteen: a seasonal tradition from this world-famous chamber choir.

The Times called The Sixteen as “a tiny soundbite of heaven”, and under their founder-conductor Harry Christopher, this world-beating chamber choir makes even the most familiar classic sound new. “A realisation of Handel’s work that suggested it was written yesterday” was how Bachtrack described one of their previous performances of Messiah at St Martin-in-the-Fields. Now they’re bringing Messiah back again: an intimately scaled, historically informed interpretation, here in the heart of the city that Handel called home. And with artists as brilliant as these (and a masterpiece as evergreen as Messiah) every note, every chorus and every beloved melody will sound fresher than ever.

This Endris Night: Christmas with VOCES8

This Endris Night: Christmas with VOCES8 invites you into a journey through the wonder of the Nativity, where chant and polyphony meet the warmth of familiar carols and festive song. The programme traces a path from reflection to celebration, echoing the story of a single, extraordinary night that changed the world. Sacred and secular voices intertwine, culminating in a sparkling finale of jazz and popular classics, offering a Christmas rich in joy.

Christmas with St Martin’s Voices

Celebrate the start of the Christmas season with a joyful evening of carols performed by St Martin’s Voices. This festive concert features stirring choral works such as See amid the winter’s snow, Infant Holy, and In dulci jubilo, alongside beloved audience carols including O come, all ye faithful and Hark! The herald angels sing. The evening also includes the world premiere of a new Advent cantata by Bob Chilcott.

The Joys of Christmas by Candlelight

The Joys of Christmas offers a short one-hour programme of music, carol singing and festive readings. Interspersing traditional favourites with contemporary classics, the captivating performances will give something for everyone as you prepare for the season’s celebrations. The choir will sing much loved classics O Holy Night and Carol of the Bells and the Sussex Carol, alongside uplifting numbers including The Twelve Days of Christmas and Jingle Bells, together with audience carols for all to join in with including Once in Royal David’s City, In the Bleak Midwinter and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

Joy to the World: A Christmas Concert

Join the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields and St Martin’s Brass for a joyful evening of carols and seasonal readings. Carols for all to sing include Hark! The Herald Angels’ Sing, Once in Royal David’s City and In the Bleak Midwinter, alongside favourites performed by our choir including Away in a Manger, Jingle Bells, and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Festive Family Carols

Celebrate the season in style with our Festive Family Carols concerts, offering the chance for children and adults of all ages to come together in a short one-hour programme of popular carols and music, including a few favourites for you to sing along with. The choir will sing uplifting Christmas classics including Carol of the Bells, Jingle Bells and The Twelve Days of Christmas, to Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, alongside audience carols for all to join in with including Once in Royal David’s City and Away in a manger.

BBC Singers and Britten Sinfonia: Britten St Nicholas

Benjamin Britten lives! 50 years to the day since his death in 1976, the Britten Sinfonia and the BBC Singers unleash the irrepressible life-force of Britten’s St Nicholas, the story of the saint who inspired the figure of Santa Claus.

Prison breaks, pickled boys and adventures at sea…just don’t call him Santa. The story of Saint Nicholas is wilder and more wonderful than you think, and in his joyous cantata, Benjamin Britten retold it in some of the brightest, boldest and most colourful music he ever wrote. What better way to mark the 50th anniversary of Britten’s death (to the day) than with a choral masterpiece that breaks all the rules?  It’s never sounded more alive. Arvo Pärt’s atmospheric tribute launches a celebration of genius from the BBC Singers and Britten Sinfonia.

A Trafalgar Square Christmas

On the evening of the lighting of the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, join St Martin’s Voices, Emerging Artists and Strings in the beautiful candlelit church for an evening of carols from the UK and around the world. Carols for all to sing include It Came Upon The Midnight Clear, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and Joy to the World, alongside works for choir and strings by John Rutter, Lucy Walker and Ola Gjeilo.

A Ceremony of Carols by Candlelight

A programme of music for Advent and Christmas, performed by the sopranos and altos of St Martin’s Voices and harpist Alis Huws, our Artist in Residence. Composed as a response to Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, Kristina Arakelyan’s A Christmas Offering also sets medieval texts in Latin and early English, with musical language which alludes to early medieval writing.