The astonishingly prolific John Gardner has yet to receive his due rewards, and still remains one of the most original and intriguing figures in English 20th-century music. The Cantata for Christmas, scored for double choir and small orchestra, receives its world premiere recording here. It opens similarly to Honegger s Christmas Cantata, written about 14 years earlier, and uses the German Advent chorale Wie schon leuchtet. The texts used include Ode on the birth of our Saviour by Robert Herrick, which is followed by Les anges dans nos campagnes set in the original French. The album also includes eight Christmas carols, some using the traditional melodies, like Good King Wenceslas.