During the Christmas season, the NFM offers a place for both the sacred and the profane in music. Importantly, they can be performed side by side during the same concert. This will be the case when Britain’s The Queen’s Six take the stage. American evergreen hits will be performed alongside English choral works. We will also hear popular songs and film songs, all delivered with the class and wink for which the artists residing at Windsor Castle are renowned.
Although The Queen’s Six were founded in 2008, they owe its name to Elizabeth I, who ascended the English throne exactly four hundred and fifty years earlier. The singers are members of the choir of St George’s Chapel in Windsor and enjoy the privilege of living on the grounds of the British monarch’s residence. Interestingly, the tradition of all-male ensembles has only recently been broken. The Queen’s Six did so in 2021. The sextet’s output includes albums of English folk songs, compositions from earlier eras, contemporary hits, and, of course, Christmas carols.
From their native Great Britain, the musicians have brought traditional pieces such as God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen, and a Renaissance responsory for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord by Thomas Tallis. Among the religious works will be contemporary compositions, such as those by Alexander L’Estrange and Jonathan Rathbone, as well as older pieces by Edgar Pettman, and Peter Warlock. The UK portion of the programme will include Bob Chilcott’s moving Sun, Moon, Sea, and Stars, a kind of love nocturne.
The Queen’s Six will also perform music rooted in American pop culture. The artists will explore the darkly humorous songs of satirist and mathematician Tom Lehrer, who died earlier this year – the consort have dedicated an entire album to him. Songs from the James Bond films will also be featured. Although the agent himself remained in the service of Her Majesty, it is American women who have often sung about him. In 1977, Carly Simon popularised the melody from The Spy Who Loved Me, and Billie Eilish captivated audiences with her 2021 rendition of No Time to Die. Mel Tormé’s The Christmas Song, originally performed by Nat King Cole, is also a gem. Finally, as it simply cannot be left out, there will be all-time Christmas hits like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and Jingle Bells. Is there a more magnificent synthesis of all things festive?