“Hodie”: The New Christmas Album of the Petits Chanteurs of St. Joseph

But it is also used by David, to express the eternal generation of the Word in eternity: “Dominus dixit ad me: Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te; The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee” (Ps. 2:7).

And the holy Church uses it in the liturgy of Christmas Vespers: “Today Christ is born, today the Savior hath appeared; today angels are singing on earth, Archangels are rejoicing; today the just are glad and say: ‘Glory to God in the highest, alleluia.’”

Thus, this little word, by itself, evokes the immense joy of the mystery of the Incarnation, a joy that popular piety has expressed, through the centuries, in these innumerable and marvelous Christmas hymns.

This CD is the sixth published by the Petits Chanteurs and their second Christmas collection, after In Dulci Jubilo (2019). It was recorded in the church of Laroque-d’Olmes, in Ariège (France), under the direction of Jean-François Sciau.

It has traditional Christmas songs from some regions of France, some Latin polyphonies (Marcello, Van Herbeck, Byrd), and some completely new unreleased pieces, of very recent composition and never before performed (J-F Sciau, Ph. Pernet).

The collection permits the discovery of the crystal clear voices of little soloists, showcased by the splendor of grand organs, the beautiful expressiveness of strings—cello and violin—and the exquisite freshness of pipes. It is a Christmas gift of great quality, to give and to buy for yourself.

The price is 13 euros (about $14.00 USD) and it is available on the site: https://www.saintjosephdescarmes.com/ecoute-cd6 where you can listen to some excerpts.