Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

This is the fourth ORA album to be released since 2016 and the easy review is to say that if you enjoyed any of the previous ones this should be on your Christmas wish list. The overarching concept remains the same: to take established Renaissance pieces and complement them with modern compositions that often use the same texts but set in different ways. Unlike the earlier releases there is only one new commission this time, John Rutter's "Suzy's Carol" in honour of Artistic Director and Conductor Suzy Digby. The words are from a 15th century carol and the melody is typically Rutter-esque which is, in my ears, no bad thing. After all, if you commission a composer you probably want him to sound like himself. We open and close with two versions of "O Magnum Mysterium" ("O Great Mystery"), the first by William Byrd (c 1540-1623) and the last by Morten Lauridsen (born 1943) and the phrase the same yet different could be applied with the clear understanding that the singing is exemplary on both. The ancient to modern bias is six to 13 in favour of the moderns with "Anonymous (medieval)" featuring most often. "Coventry Carol" is heard twice, once in its traditional setting and once in a splendid contemporary arrangement by Richard Allain (born 1965). Likewise "There Is No Rose" is heard in its well-loved version along with one by Ben Rowarth (born 1992). Standouts for me are "O Adonai, Et Dux Domus Israel" ("O Lord And Leader Of The House Of Israel") by Roderick Williams (born 1965). This opens with Emma Walshe singing the part of a solo angel. She is joined by the choir representing the ordinary people with the higher voices coming in and asserting themselves above the choir in a most dramatic way. Then a cantor takes over, here sung by the composer himself, bringing order through the words of the Advent antiphon. This will not be sung by any congregations at Carols by Candlelight but in the hands of a choir such as ORA Singers it sounds truly, wonderfully mysterious. The other standout for this reviewer - and this is a relative judgment because there is not a weak link to be heard - is Fredrik Sixten's version of "Silent Night", here re-titled as "Mary's Lullaby". Sixten (born 1962) is a Swedish composer and here he takes Joseph Mohr's original and adds a jazz flavoured descant, again sung by Emma Walshe. You will not hear this at a school nativity service but as a performance piece it is excellent. Once again Suzy Digby and ORA have given us a collection of interesting music all sung supremely well. Other than some percussion, courtesy of Joby Burgess on "Suzy's Carol", the entire collection is performed a cappella and once again ORA set a benchmark for both content and performance. If you want a traditional Christmas collection then this is not for you but if you appreciate a journey into the mystery of the Incarnation that dares to be different then this could be the best contemporary choral release of the year.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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