The Octavian Singers, like most other choirs, have been singing lots of different carols for years but some don’t fit neatly into a pre-Christmas concert. Laura, their director, likes to extend her own celebrations for as long as she can get away with! So we decided to have a late season concert, and enjoy the other parts of the Christmas story that aren’t always included.

We will start with celebrating the reason for Christ’s birth in the carols Truth from above and Adam lay y-bounden then we will celebrate St Stephen’s Day with Good King Wenceslas, move through the flight into Egypt and the Massacre of the Innocents. New Year’s Day is then marked with a carol by Britten; we’ll finish the performance with the arrival of the Three Kings in pieces by Cornelius and Mendelssohn. There will be carols for all and some lovely poems, all accompanied by mulled wine and mince pies.