ONE of the most eagerly anticipated local concerts in the run-up to Christmas is always the male choral ensemble Opus Anglicanum’s Medieval Carols and Figgy Pudding, this year at Wells Cathedral on Tuesday 16th December and St Mary’s Church, Dorchester on Thursday 18th.

For more than 30 years, the ensemble has performed this programme, which ranges from simple Gregorian chant to joyous and even raucous Christmas songs, alongside more devotional pieces, some of which are more than 800 years old.

The repertoire features masterpieces of the period by Guillaume de Machaut, Magister Perotin, Josquin des Prez, Johannes Ockeghem and Jacob Obrecht alongside early English carols such as Nowell, There is no Rose of Such Virtue, and Gaudete!

The performance also includes mediaeval readings by actor Alex Knox, creating peaceful moments of quiet reflection amid the music.

While probably best known for their Christmas concerts, Opus Anglicanum are also renowned for varied programmes, that include sequences on the First World War, music with a theme of Light, European polyphony and Gregorian chant through to folk and traditional music and everything in between.

They also have an interest in contemporary music, having commissioned and premiered pieces from composers including Judith Bingham, Sally Beamish, Howard Skempton and Chery Frances Hoad.