In the eighteenth century church composers in the Catholic parts of Germany, Austria and central Europe developed an attractive repertory of pastorellas and other Christmas music, often drawing on the folk music of the region. This programme evokes midnight mass in a Baroque Austrian church, and includes Mozart’s Mass in D major K194, pastorellas by Haydn and his central European contemporaries, a violin concerto by Haydn, and seasonal instrumental music by J. J. Fux and Gregor Werner.

Clare Tomlin has been appearing in the Suffolk Villages Festival since she was a student, and is now much in demand as a solo and consort singer, working with such groups as the Monteverdi Choir and Ex Cathedra. Tassilo Erhardt also appears regularly at the Suffolk Villages Festival, and is a member of the prize-winning trio Apollo & Pan.