Holst wrote Christmas Day, “a choral fantasy on old carols,” in 1910. The first performance was given at Morley College in London on January 28, 1911. The work uses a number of traditional carols, including “Good Christian Men Rejoice,” “God rest you merry gentlemen,” “The First Nowell” and “Come ye lofty; come ye lonely.”

Program Notes by Charley Samson, copyright 2021.