A Chanticleer Christmas
Dec. 5, 2025 - 8pm & Dec. 7, 2025 - 4pm
A Chanticleer Christmas is a treasured holiday tradition, bringing the beauty and wonder of the season to audiences near and far. By the glow of candlelight, voices soar in harmony, weaving together centuries of music that illuminate the joy, mystery, and spirit of Christmas. From moments of hushed reverence to rousing celebration, this beloved program offers a musical embrace of the season’s most cherished sentiments.
Photo by Stephen K. Mack.
The GRAMMY® Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer has been hailed as “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker, and is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for its wide-ranging repertoire and dazzling virtuosity. Founded in San Francisco in 1978 by singer and musicologist Louis Botto, Chanticleer quickly took its place as one of the most prolific recording and touring ensembles in the world, selling over one million recordings and performing thousands of live concerts to audiences around the world.
Chanticleer’s repertoire is rooted in the renaissance, and has continued to expand to include a wide range of classical, gospel, jazz, popular music, and a deep commitment to the commissioning of new compositions and arrangements. The ensemble has committed much of its vast recording catalogue to these commissions, garnering GRAMMY® Awards for its recording of Sir John Tavener’s “Lamentations & Praises”, and the ambitious collection of commissioned works entitled “Colors of Love”. Chanticleer is the recipient of the Dale Warland/Chorus America Commissioning Award and the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming, and its Music Director Emeritus Joseph H. Jennings received the Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award for his contribution to the African-American choral tradition during his tenure with Chanticleer.
Named for the “clear-singing” rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer continues to maintain ambitious programming in its hometown of San Francisco, including a large education and outreach program that recently reached over 8,000 people, and an annual concert series that includes its legendary holiday tradition “A Chanticleer Christmas”.
ListenRepertoire
A Chanticleer Christmas
Tim Keeler – Music Director
I
Hodie Christus Natus Est† Gregorian Chant
Ecce Virgo Concipiet† Cristóbal de Morales (c. 1500–1553)
Rorate Caeli† Michael Praetorius (1571–1621)
Reading: Excerpt from “Music on Christmas Morning” by Anne Brontë
II
Gloria† Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300–1377)
O Magnum Mysterium† Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525–1594)
Quem Vidistis Pastores† Palestrina
Lirum, Lirum Thomas Morley (1557–1602)
Ríu, Ríu, Chíu† Mateo Flecha el Viejo (c. 1481–c. 1553)
III
Winter’s Garland† Joanna Marsh (b. 1970)
Co-commissioned by Chanticleer and Zero8 in 2025 with support from Chad Runyon
“Hands and the Hour”
“Arrival at the Lantern Festival”
“In Winter’s House”
IV
Joy to the World† Lowell Mason (1792–1872),
arr. Adam Brett Ward
V
This Endris Night† Sarah Quartel (b. 1982)
Ave Maria† Franz Biebl (1906–2001)
VI
Once in Royal David’s City† Henry Gauntlett, arr. Jared Graveley
I Wonder as I Wander† John Jacob Niles (1892–1980), arr. Tim Keeler
A Christmas Fanfare (Angelus ad Virginem)† Steven Sametz (b. 1954)
Good King Wenceslas/Little Girl Blue† Traditional and Richard Rogers
(1902–1979), arr. Graveley
Ding Dong Merrily on High† Traditional, arr. Ward
And the Trees Do Moan† Traditional Appalachian, arr. Keeler
O Come All Ye Faithful† John Francis Wade (1711–1786),
arr. Amanda Taylor
VII
Medley of Christmas Spirituals† Traditional, arr. Joseph H. Jennings
"Rise up, shepherd, and follow"
"Behold that star"
"Sweet little Jesus boy"
“Poor little Jesus"
"What month was Jesus born in?"
"Children, go where I send thee"
"Go, tell it on the mountain"
(Program subject to change)
†These pieces have been recorded by Chanticleer.