Christmas Carols

At one end of the Christmas carol scale, you've got a small group of sporadically tuneful friends in woolly hats, spreading seasonal cheer door-to-door; at the other, you'll find these incredible vocal artists, many of whom spend a lifetime refining their own contribution to that grand objective: choral magnificence. The Choir of Exeter Cathedral leads the way with "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". Hear more rafters being raised, in Next Steps.

Sometimes, a Christmas carol requires the full, elaborate, booming-organ treatment of a full choir in full voice: soak up the glory of "Unto Us a Boy Is Born" by the St Paul's Cathedral Choir. On other occasions, a more delicate touch is needed, such as that supplied by the King's Singers on "O Little One Sweet". Alternatively, an instrumental approach works best: exhibit A, the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble. The carol arrangements become more complex in Deep Cuts.

Most of us could give a good account of ourselves if asked for a hearty rendition of "Silent Night" but if you want to hear just how high the Christmas carol bar can be raised, prepared to be stunned by the Indiana University Children's Chamber Choir as they sing "This Is Jesus' Birthday" in the round. Meanwhile, the City of London Symphonia brings the 15th Century into the present with "The Boar's Head Carol": Yuletide's just not the same without a bit of hog sacrifice.

Nothing heralds the arrival of Christmas quite like a beautifully rendered carol (unless you happen to belong to the Austrian Trade Union Federation, who claimed in 2003 that the non-stop playing of carols in shopping centres constituted "psychological terror"). For most of us, the sound of a world-class choir in full voice ranks up there alongside the aroma of fresh mince pies and the lifting of chocolate restrictions as one of the all-time great seasonal pleasures. Allow the likes of the Huddersfield Choral Society, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Mediaeval Baebes to transport you to carolling nirvana.