Three Yuletide cantatas by Benjamin Britten this week on Choral Showcase, including his first major choral work, A Boy Was Born; one of his grandest, Saint Nicholas; and his most popular, A Ceremony of Carols.

Show Notes

Benjamin Britten: A Boy Was Born, Op. 3

  • Choristers of St. Paul's Cathedral
  • The Sixteen
  • Harry Christophers, conductor

Benjamin Britten: Saint Nicholas, Op. 42

  • Anthony Rolfe Johnson, tenor; Harry Briggs, treble; Corydon Singers; Choristers of St. George's Chapel, Windsor; Girls of Warwick University Choir; Choirs of Sevenoaks School & Tonbridge School; Choir of Christ Church Southgate; Penshurst Choral Society
  • Catherine Edwards & John Alley, piano duet; John Scott, organ
  • English Chamber Orchestra
  • Matthew Best, conductor

Benjamin Britten: A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28

  • Choir of Clare College, Cambridge
  • Graham Ross, conductor
  • Tanya Houghton, harp