The Royal Albert Hall’s jam-packed Christmas line-up throughout December 2023 is quite extraordinary, but the pièce-de-résistance has to be their annual carol concert, which is — surely — the best carol concert in the whole world. There is nothing like singing along with five thousand people, the 9,999 pipes of the Royal Albert Hall’s organ, “the voice of Jupiter”, topped with deafening blasts from the British Imperial Military Band trumpets.

Conducted by Richard Cooke, the amazingly versatile Royal Philharmonic Orchestra just absolutely knock it out of the park. An all-guns blazing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (arranged by Rod Elms) shows off the orchestra’s flawless handling of jazz, while the swaggering brass in “Sleigh Ride” (Leroy Anderson) draws a spontaneous burst of applause. The finale of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” (arranged by Guy Barker), complete with fireworks finish, is raucous and joyous in the best possible way. But in “March” from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, what dazzles is the effortless control and synchronicity among the ensemble: they really can do it all.

The combined forces of the Royal Choral Society and National Youth Choir come into their own with a beautiful new arrangement of “Silent Night” by David Arnold, to which we are all invited to take out our phone torches to create a glittering night sky. However, when the National Youth Choir sing alone for a couple of pieces, it’s not so pretty: pitch issues and a lack of blending doesn’t really match with the breathtaking professionalism of the rest of the show.

As affable presenter Jess Gillam points out with some audience interaction, there are truly all ages in attendance: to kids “from one to ninety-two”. Likewise, the show reflects the diversity of Christmas music, from traditional carols to jazz and pop: it’s truly spectacular.

Sing along at the Royal Albert Hall, 16 – 24 December 2023.