This 2023 release is the third in a series devoted to live Advent recordings by the , over the past decade. In some ways, it offers more of what was heard on the first two, and its appearance on classical best-seller charts during the 2023 holiday season suggests that listeners are getting what they want. There is a good mix of traditional, contemporary, and newly commissioned pieces, with organ works as interludes. This has an intriguing effect that jolts the proceedings out of the usual realm of peak Britishness and casts a contrapuntal perspective over much of the music. Yet, there are some factors that make this third volume unique. For one, these recordings were taken from services held between 2020 and 2022 and were thus affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 recordings occurred under severe social distancing rules, and in 2021, director himself was stricken; organist stepped in at short notice. By 2022, had agreed to take up a new post at Westminster Abbey, making the proceedings into a swan song. There is perhaps a certain enthusiasm in the singing of the young choristers, but as for the COVID restrictions, it is hard to hear in the finished product; the engineering of smooths out any rough spots and creates an appealingly direct sound that doesn't shy from a bit of clanking in the organ. Some of the pieces seem relevant to the upcoming coronation of , and there are some standout individual works like 's . In multiple ways, even those who already have the first two releases in the Choir's series will find this a fresh take on the English holiday season in music. ~ James Manheim