The St. John's College Choir (men and boys) has enjoyed wide success with previous holiday releases, partly due to excellent engineering, more due to the...

The St. John's College Choir (men and boys) has enjoyed wide success with previous holiday releases, partly due to excellent engineering, more due to the clarity of the choral singing, and most of all due to the fresh and coherent programming concepts offered by director Andrew Nethsingha. Here you get a variety of short pieces rooted in, but not hewing to, traditional carols, a few by well-known composers (John Rutter, Bob Chilcott, Peter Warlock), the majority by names that will be new even to many English listeners. The overall mood is meditative, with just a few of the bumping-along, organ-accompanied sorts of work; much of the music is a cappella. A wonderful holiday release with a good measure of seriousness.

– All Music Guide (James Manheim)