By John Tamilio III

On Christmas Night is a welcome alternative to the inescapable flood of tiresome holiday songs currently assaulting us from radios and shopping mall sound systems.

On Christmas Night, the London Choral Sinfonia conducted by Michael Waldron. Orchid Classics

My wife and her mother have an annual Christmas tradition. The first time Cindy hears José Feliciano sing “Feliz Navidad,” be it on the radio or over a store’s stereo, she calls her mother. (As Steve Buscemi’s character says in the Coen brothers 1996 film Fargo, “You know, with José Feliciano you’ve got no complaints.”) I have a different tradition. When I hear Paul McCartney’s “Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time,” or Wham’s “Last Christmas,” I recall the words of Tennessee Williams, “how lucky dead people are.”

Unless you go to church or there’s a professional chorus where you live, hearing genuinely moving Christmas music is an arduous quest, although WCRB delivers in the Boston area. My annual quest is to discover offerings that are musically fresh and inspiring. This year I found it well before Thanksgiving. Actually, it found me — and what a wonderful early Christmas present it is! I adore sacred music, as do many theists and atheists alike. Even for many of the latter, the Yuletide does not properly commence until their ears are bathed in Handel’s Messiah.

“The London Choral Sinfonia marks its 10th anniversary — and a decade of recording activity — with On Christmas Night, a festive collection of beloved carols in vivid new orchestrations.” So reads an advert on the LCS website and, for once, marketing speaks truth. The album’s atmospheric watercolor design of teal blue, black, charcoal, and ivory — a beautiful winter landscape — provides the perfect visual entrée to this year’s best choral Christmas recording.

Trumpets, soon joined by an immaculate chorus, open the album. The harmonies are utterly sublime in this world premiere of Jim Clements’s “Ring Out, Wild Bells” (the lyrics are from Tennyson’s 1850 poem “In Memoriam”). Full orchestration, built on a solid tympanic foundation, engages the senses. And, before you can catch your breath, a brass fanfare and a euphoric chorus launch into “Awake Glad Heart.” Cinematic in scope, the selection pauses momentarily as the strings segue into a subtle organ interlude which, itself, transitions into an orchestral-laden operatic solo by soprano Emma Bell. Here voice is hypnotic, lulling the listeners into the cool aura of the winter solstice.

It is an unusual Christmas album that contains no venerated chestnuts. “Silent Night” (the third track on this release) insinuates itself into the heart and the spirit. But this is not like the Nat King Cole or Bing Crosby versions; the London Choral Sinfonia sings this Franz Grüber classic with supple poise. Of particular note is the contrapuntal variation on the third verse. (I would love to hear them sing the original German as well!)

Other familiar carols have been included. “In the Bleak Midwinter” is presented, as the liner notes state, via a fresh imagining of the Gustav T. Holst hymn. The recording also boasts a soothing, reverent rendition of the beloved English carol “Away in a Manger.” Its harmonies blend meticulously. This track is followed by “O Holy Night,” with Bell offering an operatic rendition of this somber Christmas favorite undergirded by the London Choral Sinfonia’s elegant tapestry of voices. Instead of building to a predictable Josh Groban-esque finale, the chorus and orchestra augment Bell’s passionate articulation.

At the heart of this album is the exquisite seven-part Christmas Suite by the late British composer Alec Rowley. The first movement (“Prelude”) soothes the nerves with easeful sounds. Layered strings paint an image as picturesque and tranquil as a winter evening after the first snowfall. (The music is as alluring as the collection’s cover art.) The second movement is reminiscent of the Messiah‘s “Overture” (though more reserved) as well as the “Pifa” (“Pastoral Symphony”) halfway through Part One of Handel’s Yuletide composition. The third movement (“Minuet”) starts off as an earnest rendition of the British folk carol “The Holly and the Ivy.” Equally solemn is the selection that follows: “Sarabande” — an instrumental (string) rendition of the Coventry carol “Lullay, Thou Little Tiny Child.” The fifth movement, “Bourrée,” comes along as an old, welcomed friend. To me, it sounds the way Christmas smells.

However, before you have time to reminisce for too long, the suite continues with “Fughetta,” which rises like a delicate, chamber music offering. It is lithe and silken, drawing one into a reverent moment just prior to the festive finale: a variation on the traditional 19th-century English carol “Here We Come a Wassailing.”

The recording closes with the jubilant “Nova, nova,” which taps a theatrical, nouveau jazz ambiance that will no doubt rouse listeners to sashay around the hearth as they trim their Douglas firs and hang their stockings.

On Christmas Night is a welcome alternative to the inescapable flood of tiresome holiday songs that assault us from radios and shopping mall sound systems, performances that bludgeon our ears until December 25th. Treat yourself to an early Christmas present. Acquire a copy of On Christmas Night by the London Choral Sinfonia under the wizardly baton of Michael Waldron. The tracks here are far superior to that overproduced Mariah Carey tune you will hear ad nauseam, or that dreaded, aforementioned McCartney piece.

John Tamilio III, PhD, is the Pastor of the Congregational Church of Canton, a professor of Philosophy at Salem State University, and a professional guitarist who plays solo acoustic and for the Boston-based classic rock band 3D. His playing has been applauded by David Brown (Simon & Garfunkel, Billy Joel), Jack Sonni (Dire Straits), and Carter Allen (WZLX). An aficionado of classical music, particularly the Baroque era, Tamilio’s publications are vast, covering not only music, philosophy, and theology, but the poetry of T.S. Eliot as well. He resides in Beverly with his wife Cynthia.