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Once again Voces8 entertain a packed audience with an eclectic programme sung with thrilling precision and excellent presentation. 

Angels abound as Rachel Podger joins with VOCES8 for a collaborative exploration built around music from her Guardian Angel album.

Philip Herreweghe directs Schütz' Psalmen Davids with Collegium Vocale Gent at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, in a performance of sustained power and feeling.

On entering St George’s Bristol, we were given a sheet of paper with a biography and the names of a handful of composers – the programme hadn’t been announced beforehand, and was only revealed during the concert by John Williams himself. He introduced each piece with a little context, varying from a piece’s personal relevance, to its historical background.

After the overload of concerts and carol singing around Christmas, most choirs have a well-deserved break before starting for another year, but not Vivamus. This young London-based choir entered 2013 in style with a candlelit concert for Epiphany. The concert’s main advertised work was Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, with other composers on the programme including Leighton, Howells and Whitacre.

December in London doesn’t just mean wall-to-wall carol singing and the Messiah. It also means Spitalfields Music Winter Festival, which can be relied upon to programme something novel for the festive season while still not skimping on the mince pies.