Christmas, as the retail sector along with anyone looking for an excuse to celebrate would undoubtedly say, comes but once a year. For those of us of a certain age, Christmas seems to come round every three months or so, as years seem to become shorter as time goes by. And, in that short space of time, yet more Christmas recordings come our way.

What defines the Christmas season is that there is always something temptingly new to buy. It’s the latest toy, the must-have fashion, the Christmas Number One in the popular charts and, of course, that whole slew of new recordings and other tracks to download.

Sacred Joy is just one of those Christmas ‘must haves’ for 2026. It’s a perfectly respectable selection of carols and other works but – and this is not so much a criticism as an observation – there’s little on here which is new, unusual, ground-breaking or, putting it bluntly, different.

The soloist is soprano Esther Rayo and she is accompanied by pianist Peter Grünberg. Rayo’s early background comes from singing in church, so the content of the performance is hugely familiar. Her performance repertoire is extremely varied with a specialisation in classical Spanish repertoire. Her accompanist hails from Sydney and has worked across the world with names such as Michael Tilson Thomas and with opera companies and ensembles on three continents.

What is skilful in this recording is that Rayo avoids bringing operatic drama to simple, traditional carols. In addition, Grünberg’s accompaniment is sensitive when it needs to be and virtuoso when the composer or arranger calls for it. What might have been good is to have been given some information about the arrangements on the disc. Who wrote the accompaniments? What inspired them? How did they approach their tasks?

The recording was made at a concert given at St Stephen’s Episcopal Church at Belvedere in California, USA. There is no huge acoustic to muddy the musical waters and there is no evidence of an audience being present, to the credit of the recording engineer.

Throughout, Rayo’s vocal textures are warm and sensitive. There’s no excessive vibrato and there is a genuine feeling of connection with the music.

The opening Adeste Fideles is sung in Latin for one verse and then again in English. The English verse has a much more flamboyant accompaniment, which slightly detracts from the vocal line. For UK audiences, the tune used for Away in a Manger is recognisable but is rarely sung in these parts. James R Murray’s tune Mueller is much better known in the USA, and Rayo’s performance is genuine and heart-felt.

The two German and Austrian offerings which follow – Es ist ein Ros entsprungen and Silent Night – have, perhaps, slightly overbearing accompaniments but are quite beautiful.

The French are represented by Adolphe Adam’s Cantique de Noël – O Holy Night – which is milked for all it is worth, which does tend to land on the side of over-sentimentality.

And then there are the three more unusual offerings – a Puerto Rican traditional carol El santo niño, El rorro from Mexico and the Spanish carol A la nanita nana. The Puerto Rican piece has a beautifully lilting melody while the Mexican carol juxtaposed varying textures, which made for an interesting listen.

Two Ave Marias were included, both hugely familiar. The Gounod version, based on the first of the ’48’ Preludes and Fugues by Bach, includes the never-added Fugue in C major, delicately played by Grünberg.

And then there’s the sugary Schubert interpretation. In some ways, it was a little over-dramatic at times, with Rayo letting her operatic background intrude just a little too much.

But that is a small price to pay, especially considering her rounded and quite charming performance of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.

The disc is under half an hour long and, just to get the Christmas mood, it’s a worthy investment. To explore new repertoire – maybe think twice.