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Music has always been an essential part of Christmas, although over the years it has been increasingly commercialised and secularised as artists seek that elusive and lucrative Christmas No. 1, all of which has helped create a rich and evocative selection of music to listen to and enjoy at the festive season. At the heart of it all, though, are the traditional Christmas Carols, some of are genuinely traditional, their roots sometimes going back centuries, while others composed more recently have nevertheless become part of the familiar repertoire of carols enjoyed at candlelight services or community carol singing. A selection of carols to play over Christmas will always help to add some extra atmosphere, and this great-value 40-track 2-CD collection offers three different styles of performance to enjoy. The first CD features a selection of performances of well-known traditional carols by the classical choir of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, along with recordings made by the children of St. John's School in Pinner, Middlesex, which comprises more modern carols and Christmas songs with traditional repertoire. On CD2 we feature performances of carols and Christmas-related songs by major artists of the post-war era, recorded either as singles aimed at the Christmas charts, or on Christmas-themed albums, and which, with accompaniment by top orchestras and arrangers, bring a different dimension to the interpretation and enjoyment of the music.