Somewhat unsurprisingly, seasonal releases featured prominently in our Top 25 best-sellers for December, with Diana Damrau's sparkling My Christmas (featuring one disc of popular carols and medleys in full-fat orchestrations and another of Baroque festive fare) sitting at the top of the tree.
Tenebrae's In Winter's House (including music by Joanna Marsh, Owain Park and Benjamin Britten), a programme of music for Christmas by female composers from The Choir of Somerville College Oxford, and Bojan Čičić's joyous La Notte with the Illyria Consort also proved popular for those seeking something slightly further off the beaten track.
No. 1 (new entry)
Diana Damrau (soprano), Matthias Höfs (trumpet), NDR Radiophilharmonie, Knabenchor Hanover, Richard Whilds, Riccardo Minasi
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 2 (new entry)
In Winter's House
Christmas With Tenebrae
Tenebrae, Nigel Short
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 3 (new entry)
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 4 (No. 10 last month)
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 5 (No. 5 last month)
Lisette Oropesa (Theodora), Joyce DiDonato (Irene), Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian (Didymus), Michael Spyres (Septimius), John Chest (Valens)
Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev
Available formats: 3 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 6 (No. 1 last month)
Steven Isserlis (cello), Connie Shih (piano), Olivia Jageurs (harp)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 7 (No. 2 last month)
La Notte
Concertos and Pastorales for Christmas Night
Bojan Čičić (violin), The Illyria Consort
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 8 (new entry)
Chiaroscuro Quartet
Available format: SACD
No. 9 (new entry)
Alim Beisembayev (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 10 (No. 25 last month)
Krystian Zimerman (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 11 (new entry)
Eric Lu (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 12 (No. 7 last month)
Víkingur Ólafsson (piano)
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 13 (No. 16 last month)
Mitsuko Uchida (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 14 (No. 8 last month)
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano)
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 15 (new entry)
Birgit Nilsson (Brünnhilde), Hans Hotter (Wotan), Régine Crespin (Sieglinde), James King (Siegmund), Christa Ludwig (Fricka), Gottlob Frick (Hunding)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Georg Solti
Available formats: 4 SACDs, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 16 (new entry)
Maurizio Pollini (piano)
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 17 (No. 14 last month)
Gewandhausorchester, Herbert Blomstedt
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 18 (No. 6 last month)
Lea Desandre (mezzo), Iestyn Davies (countertenor), Thomas Dunford, Jupiter
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 19 (new entry)
Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano), Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens
Available format: SACD
No. 20 (new entry)
The Dawn of Grace
Music for Christmas
Luca Morgante (organ), Somerville College Choir Oxford, Will Dawes
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 21 (new entry)
Renaud Capuçon (violin), Martha Argerich (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 22 (new entry)
Music from her Reign and the Funeral & Committal Services
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 16 bit)
No. 23 (No. 24 in October
Elena Urioste (violin), Chineke! Orchestra, Kevin John Edusei, Fawzi Haimor, Roderick Cox, Kalena Bovell, Anthony Parnther
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 24 (new entry)
Paul Wee (piano)
Available format: SACD
No. 25 (new entry)
Hesperion XXI, Jordi Savall
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
