Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Thomas Hewitt Jones is an award-winning composer of both concert and commercial music who won the 2003 BBC Young Composer Competition. More recently you may have noticed his work in the four animated Mascot Films for London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, narrated by Stephen Fry, with stories by Michael Morpurgo. This album is the first recording of a new major work for Christmas by Hewitt Jones with words by Paul Williamson. 'Incarnation: A Suite Of Songs For Christmas' tells two interwoven stories. The first is the familiar tale of the Christmas journey from Advent to Epiphany. Embedded in that seasonal succession of events is another story, that of the large-scale narrative of the Bible, a synthesis of divine cosmology, history, legend and theology, that starts with the creation of the world and the fall of Adam and Eve. This slow-moving tale winds its way through the Old Testament towards Christ's birth in the stable in Bethlehem, finally reaching out to touch the present day and look ahead into the future. It is a great idea but, for this listener, it does not quite work. Perhaps it is a case of over-egging the Christmas pudding as there is so much going on I did not manage to follow it. The Chamber Orchestra of London give a good account but I sometimes struggled to make out what the singers were saying. The orchestral suite "A Traditional Christmas" is great fun and we spent a happy quarter of an hour trying to name all the carols that Hewitt Jones manages to squeeze in. We also enjoyed the closing carols, "Baby In An Ox's Stall" and "Hear The Angels Sing" but it was the title track and main feature that failed to engage.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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