We owe much to the Victorian figures determined to resurrect the joy of Christmas through music. Andrew Green charts how carol collectors have shaped the way the world celebrates

Glasgow, 1942. The Carl Rosa Opera Company was in town to perform Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Tickets had been snapped up by local people – including many who didn’t really know what an opera was. The

The Bohemian King Wenceslas really was good, but his reward for gracious piety was not, discovers Ian Morton

Throughout his career, our columnist has relied on the music of poetry to provide grace, wisdom and even a distraction from the sounds of war

Works by Gesualdo & composers of Naples Concerto Italiano/Rinaldo Alessandrini; Monica Piccinini (soprano); Maria Chiara Gallo (mezzo) et al Naïve OP8677 62:13 mins Don’t be deceived – Carlo Gesualdo

On the morning of 15 November 2007, Morten Lauridsen stepped onto a podium in the East Room of the White House to receive the National Medal of Arts from president George W Bush. He was 64 at the time