Petros Singers to Revisit Medieval Christmas Traditions

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Candlelit concert revisits poems that inspired Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols

Petros Singers' Christmas 2025 performance

November 10, 2026

The Petros Singers will bring the sounds of Christmas to Hammersmith this December with a candlelit concert inspired by medieval poetry and some of the most celebrated choral composers of the last century.

The Hammersmith-based choir will perform A Ceremony of Carols Revisited at St Peter's Church in Black Lion Lane on Saturday 12 December, combining festive music, audience participation and seasonal refreshments in a celebration of the Christmas story.

Around 30 singers will take part in the concert, which revisits the collection of medieval poems that inspired Benjamin Britten's renowned A Ceremony of Carols. Rather than recreating Britten's work, the programme explores how a range of composers have responded to the same texts across different musical eras.

The concert has a particular significance for musical director Richard Bannan, whose first Christmas performance with the choir in 2016 featured Britten's original.

"Britten's Ceremony of Carols has been a part of my life for nearly 40 years and these poems are deeply embedded in my understanding of the Christmas story," he said.

"However, approaching them through the prism of different composers' responses to them has been eye-opening."

Accompanied by organist Alex Knight, the programme features works by contemporary composers including Cecilia McDowall and John Rutter, alongside music by British composers such as Herbert Howells, William Mathias and Peter Warlock.

Among the pieces to be performed are Welcome, Yule!, There is No Rose, Adam Lay Ybounden, Gaudete, A Spotless Rose and Of a Rose, creating a programme that spans more than a century of choral composition while drawing on much older literary traditions.

"What I think runs through all this music is an appreciation of the mysticism of the Christmas story," added Mr Bannan.

Audience members will also be invited to join in a selection of traditional Christmas carols, including O Come, All Ye Faithful, O Little Town of Bethlehem and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

Mr Bannan believes Christmas concerts play an important role in introducing new listeners to choral music.

"Christmas, for many people, is the only time that they might come to a choral concert in the year," he said.

"So, it represents our best opportunity to move them and inspire them to come to more. That mutual exchange of energy is eternally rewarding."

The evening will be enhanced by candlelight, mulled wine and mince pies, creating a festive atmosphere in one of the area’s historic churches.

Tickets are priced at £22, £18 concessions and £8 for under-30s and available through the Petros Singers website.

St Peter's Church is on Black Lion Lane, Hammersmith.

The event is sponsored by local estate agents Horton and Garton.

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