From the candlelit traditions of Scandinavia to the warmth and swing of an American Christmas, Lyyra brings a fresh perspective to the season. The six-voice all-female ensemble journeys across centuries, countries and musical traditions in a programme shaped by winter, reflection and joy.

The journey begins in the wintry world of Sweden with Solwig Hernth-Grippe's Stig in, Lucia, stig in and David Wikander's Det brinner en stjärna, before moving through sacred music old and new. Two very different settings of O Magnum Mysterium, by Cristóbal de Morales and B. E. Boykin, sit alongside Orlando di Lasso and John Tavener, while Francis Pott's The Wild Geese and the British folk song The Snow It Melts the Soonest bring poetry and reflection into the programme.

From there, the mood shifts towards familiar seasonal favourites, with fresh arrangements of Carol of the Bells, O Christmas Tree and Ding Dong! Merrily on High, before Lyyra crosses the Atlantic for the jazz-inflected energy of Jingle Bells, Donny Hathaway's This Christmas and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. From Renaissance polyphony and folk song to contemporary writing and close harmony, Christmas with Lyyra offers a distinctly international journey through the season

Performers
Lyyra