Ars Nova’s Christmas Journey 2026

For many people, Christmas is a time for travelling, as we often make a special effort to visit family who live further away. The singers and conductor of Ars Nova have roots in many different parts of the world, and this year we are embarking on a musical Christmas journey to the countries that hold a special place in our hearts. Along the way, we will stop in England, Canada, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Ireland, France, Sweden, Norway and, of course, Denmark. Audiences can look forward to hearing both masterpieces by some of the great composers in music history and arrangements of traditional songs that are essential to Christmas celebrations in their respective countries.

Among the larger, through-composed works, listeners will hear Nesciens Mater by the French Renaissance composer Jean Mouton, a musical meditation on the mystery of Christ’s birth (‘The mother who knew not a man’), as well as the festive Hodie Christus natus est (‘Today Christ is born’) by the Dutch composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, who lived around a century later. Moving closer to our own time, the programme includes, in chronological order, Charles Wood Pearsall’s In dulci jubilo – a major English Christmas work from the Romantic period – and, from the 20th century, Francis Poulenc’s refined, humorous yet deeply spiritual Quatre Motets pour le temps de Noël, as well as O Magnum Mysterium by the living composer Morten Lauridsen, one of the most beloved Christmas works in contemporary choral music.

But, as mentioned, no proper Christmas concert would be complete without simple arrangements of traditional and much-loved songs. From this repertoire, we will sing, among others, the English Christmas carol Gabriel’s Message, arranged by Jim Clements; Fernando Lopes-Graça’s arrangement of the popular Portuguese song Pela noite de Natal; Eoghan Desmond’s version of the Irish Christmas carol Curoo Curoo; and the almost whispered, intimate lullaby for the Saviour, Suantrai ar Slanaitheora, by the Irish composer Fintan O’Carroll.

Swedish Christmas is represented by Jul, jul, strålande jul by Gustaf Nordqvist and the hymn Bereden väg för Herren. Here, the special Nordic atmosphere of Christmas is unmistakable: the darkness, the light, the anticipation and the almost physical longing for Christmas to break through the winter. And with Ørjan Matre’s arrangement of the traditional Norwegian melody Mitt hjerte alltid vanker, the snow melts in every Norwegian heart at Christmas. From Denmark, we will sing… no… that has to be a surprise!