The evenings are drawing in, the Christmas lights are up in the streets, and the first few Christmas trees are being decorated. After a rapid and unseasonably mild autumn, it seems like winter has very much arrived.

I love this time of year, when it’s getting cold and dark, because it means the carol books get dusted down and brought back into choir. We have started rehearsing carols, with some classics, old favourites, and lots of incredible new ones. An (almost) instant favourite is Iain Farrington’s ‘Nova Nova’. If you’d told me a blend of medieval lyrics and a bluesy tune would work, I wouldn’t have believed you – but to my surprise and delight it is very much a success. I haven’t quite cracked the coordination to click and sing at the same time just yet, but I’m sure it’ll come!

Plus, it’s a joy to be revising Will Todd’s gorgeous ‘My Lord has Come’; its beauty evoked a few emotional tears from our audience last year. And then there’s our very own Rufus Frowde’s ‘Adam Lay Ybounden’ – very different in pace and style, but with equally brilliant harmonies.

Bright street lights and invites to office Christmas parties are a staple this time of year. And of course, there’s the beloved pastime of baking (and feeding!) the Christmas cake. But more than any of these, it’s the magical sound of Christmas carols which tells me that the festive season is almost here. And, if the carols we’re singing are anything to go by, I think this year is going to be an especially good one!

Don’t miss out – book your tickets to our Hitchin Winter Festival concert, and Vivamus at Christmas.

You can also read a fellow Vivamus singer’s reflection on the magic of Christmas concerts.

Post written by Sophie Heard.