From the radiant simplicity of Bob Chilcott and John Rutter to the mystical intensity of Judith Weir and James MacMillan, the Choir of Merton College’s An English Christmas gathers a century of festive choral inspiration into one luminous album. Benjamin Nicholas conducts forces including the Oxford Philharmonic and Contemporary Sinfonia in music that glows with lyric warmth and orchestral colour. Alongside carols by Holst, Howells and Vaughan Williams are new works by Kerensa Briggs, Roxanna Panufnik and Cecilia McDowall — a celebration of both tradition and renewal, and of the uniquely English choral sound that has become Merton’s hallmark.