Christmas music guides

These guides cover carols and Christmas events, from the best carols for a church service to what carol singers cost for a lobby, hall, or street. To book singers, see our Christmas carol singers and Christmas prices.

Christmas & carol services

Start with the best carols for a carol service; the rest cover particular services, the carols themselves, and Christmas events.

The best Christmas carols for a carol service

The carols to choose for a carol service, the less familiar ones worth adding, and how to build the running order.
Nine Lessons and Carols: how to plan the service

The history, the nine readings and who reads them, where the carols sit, and a worked order of service for a church you have booked.
Carols by candlelight

The running order, which carols suit low light, how the singers read the music, and what venues allow.
Hiring a choir for a church carol service

For parishes and schools without a choir of their own — what to book, how it works with your organist, and what it costs.
Planning a corporate or office carol service

How to plan a corporate or office carol service: the date, the venue, carols and readings, a sample running order, and the cost.
Planning a charity carol concert

Booking a December church, building a running order around carols, readings, and the appeal, briefing VIP readers, and budgeting the music.
Advent carols vs Christmas carols

Two seasons, two repertoires: what belongs before 25 December, and how to programme a service in between.
Christmas carol lyrics: the words and what they mean

The archaic phrases, the mistranslations, and the lines most people get wrong — including where the comma belongs.
Silent Night: the words, the story, and how a choir sings it

John Freeman Young’s 1859 words, the Oberndorf story, and how a choir sings it by candlelight.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: the words, the tune, and the descant

Wesley’s words, Mendelssohn’s tune, and the descant on the last verse.
O Come, All Ye Faithful: the words, the Latin, and the tune

Oakeley’s translation of Adeste Fideles and the verse kept for Christmas Day.
Once in Royal David’s City: the words, the solo, and how a choir sings it

All six of Alexander’s verses, the King’s College solo, and our recording.
O Little Town of Bethlehem: the words, the two tunes, and how a choir sings it

Phillips Brooks’s words, the Forest Green tune, and our recording.
The Holly and the Ivy: the words, the meaning, and how a choir sings it

The folk carol Cecil Sharp took down at Chipping Campden, and what the holly stands for.
The best carols for four voices

Which carols gain from one voice per part, which need six or eight, and how to build an hour for a quartet.
A cappella Christmas songs for a choir

The Christmas songs that work unaccompanied, the ones that do not, and how to mix songs with carols.
Live choral music for company Christmas parties

Roaming carols, sets between courses, and a closing singalong at a company Christmas party, with sizes and prices.
Christmas entertainment for hotels

Which format suits a lobby, a festive afternoon tea, a ballroom, and a light switch-on — and how to schedule singers across December.
Music for a Christmas drinks reception

When the singing should start, roaming or stationary sets, how loud is right, and where to put the singers.
Music for a Christmas gala or awards dinner

A sung grace, set pieces between courses, and where music sits in a running order full of speeches.
Carol singers for law firms and professional services

Client entertaining, City office acoustics, building management, and how the December diary fills.
Hosting a residents’ carol event

Where to hold a building carol evening, how the evening is shaped, and the per-household arithmetic for a service-charge budget.
Outdoor carol singing

Markets, switch-ons, and streets: how many voices open air needs, weather, cold, and what to provide.