Alexander Armstrong - In a Winter Light (2017) [Hi-Res]

After two Top 10 albums – ‘A Year of Songs’ (2015) and ‘Upon A Different Shore’ (2016) –the actor, comedian, presenter and classically trained baritone Alexander Armstrong is set to release his first Christmas album ‘In A Winter Light’.

Having spent years performing in choirs, Armstrong’s beloved musical heritage is on full, glorious display on ‘In A Winter Light’. Recorded with the City of Prague Orchestra, abetted by the Choir of New College Oxford, the RAF Squadronaires big band and Jools Holland, it’s the rich, enveloping sound of a gifted baritone pursuing the range of his seasonal and musical passions.

Armstrong’s seasonal playlist takes us carefully around his many loves. The judicious song selection ranges from neo-folkies Fleet Foxes’ ‘White Winter Hymnal’ to revered composer Herbert Howells’ ‘A Spotless Rose’. We move seamlessly from the wintry paganism of the Middle Ages (‘There Is No Rose’) to the cocktail cheer of the Fifties (‘Winter Wonderland’). Nina Simone (‘Little Girl Blue’) clinks a glass with Bing Crosby (‘Let It Snow’). And, finally, you can barely hear the distance between the hymnal wonders (‘O Holy Night’, ‘Bethlehem Down’, ‘Silent Night’) and a pair of fresh-off-the page compositions written by Armstrong himself (‘I still Believe In Christmas’ and ‘This Glorious Morrow’).