Call it savoir-faire, call it je-ne-sais-quoi, but French music has always had a certain flair – a style that’s all its own. It was the tradition in 17th century Paris to celebrate Christmas Eve with old-fashioned carol tunes, and when the brilliant Marc-Antoine Charpentier incorporated ten of them into his Messe de Minuit, the result was a choral work of quite irresistible exuberance and charm.

Who better to perform it this Christmas than the world-class singers and period instrumentalists of the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists – and what finer way to launch the festivities than with Bach at his jubilant best?