They may not have the TV advertising budgets of Katherine Jenkins or Cliff Richard, but that hasn't prevented two local choirs from bringing out their own Christmas CDs. He came all so stille (RR 1039) concentrates on the period just before Christmas, with its selection of Advent carols and motets. The choir is the North Oxfordshire-based group Choros, under director Janet Linc. Anyone who has attended Linc's concerts will know that she draws a luminous sound from her singers, with rock solid ensemble, and intelligent, clear, expression of the words. All these qualities are in evidence on this CD, and are aided by an exemplary sound balance. Linc has wide musical tastes, and the CD ranges from the 16th-century Robert Parsons (his Ave Maria is deeply beautiful) to Katherine Dienes (her haunting Nativity). Dienes was born in 1970. Always you feel that the modern refreshes the traditional. This CD contains work of the highest quality, and will give much uplifting pleasure.

From North Oxfordshire to the city, where the choir of St Barnabas Church in Jericho has recorded a CD entitled A Christmas Journey (STBCCD2). It's not every parish church choir who would risk leading off with a performance of Bach's Wake, O Wake! sung by the tenors and basses alone, but the men are confident indeed. The sopranos and altos - it's amazing to think that sopranos replaced boy trebles at St Barnabas only in the 1990s - come into their own on subsequent tracks, with the full choir making quite an earthy sound. Authoritative conducting comes from Bob Lowrie, who plainly likes to set his forces a perky tempo. The repertoire (The angel Gabriel, Silent night, In dulci jubilo, to name three tracks at random) contains few surprises, but it's none the worse for that. This is another enjoyable, well sung, CD.

Both CDs are issued by the choirs themselves. For the Choros CD e-mail: info@choros.org Website for the St Barnabas CD: www.crotchet.co.uk