10.12.24 Bruxelles

How Christmas Happens is a musical journey through the mystery, wonder, and joy of the Christmas story—told in voices both ancient and modern, sacred and festive.

The program opens with expressions of awe and devotion, from William Byrd’s radiant Alleluia, Ave Maria to Rachmaninoff’s beloved Bogoroditse Devo and Jonas Tamulionis’ gentle Ave Maria. These works evoke the quiet marvel of the Nativity.

At the heart of the program lies Francis Poulenc’s Quatre Motets pour le temps de Noël—four vivid musical scenes that trace the unfolding of Christmas night, from mystery (O magnum mysterium) to joyful proclamation (Hodie Christus natus est).The second half brings warmth and tenderness with Bob Chilcott’s Song of the Crib, and arrangements of familiar favorites: the haunting Gabriel’s Message, a hushed Silent Night, and the jazzy sparkle of Let It Snow!—reminding us that Christmas lives not only in sacred history, but in every voice that celebrates it today.