Bath Bach Choir's Carols by Candlelight at the Pump Room

Carols by Candlelight marks the true start of Christmas in Bath, a calendar fixture since 1947 when Bath Bach Choir first presented an intimate evening of carols and Christmas music by candlelight in the Roman Baths’ atmospheric Pump Room.

For the 2024 edition, the choir presents four short concerts, each just an hour long to fit conveniently into your pre-Christmas evening diary.

This year’s Pump Room programme contains the familiar mix of sacred pieces, lively arrangements of well-known carols and cosy old chestnuts from Christmas movies to get everyone in the mood for fireside celebrations. There will also be a nod to Gustav Holst, that pedlar of classic Christmas tunes such as ‘In the bleak midwinter’ and ‘Good Christian men rejoice’, 150 years after his birth.

Voices for Life children’s choir will make a welcome return to the platform at the early performances, to add the pure sound of young voices to the evening’s line-up. And we are delighted that Belinda Gifford-Guy, the BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2023, will join us for the later performances.  As is traditional, there will be key moments for the audience to join in where invited.

Come along and help light up the Pump Room in celebration of the true start of Christmas.

Voices for Life Bath Children’s Choir

Belinda Gifford-Guy BBC Chorister of the Year

Marcus Sealy accompanist

BENEDICT COLLINS RICE conductor