Christmas Tree Singers 2018 in concert;
On Saturday 22 December, the Christmas Tree Singers performed their final concert of 2018, at the Christmas Market on Place d'Armes in Luxembourg city centre.
Despite the inclement weather the evening brought, with intermittent heavy showers, the Christmas market was thronged with revellers, many grateful for the central canopy, and some sipping gluhwein from Christmas mugs or nibbling on Luxembourg's finest Gromperekichelcher (potato fritters).
Meanwhile, up on the bandstand, choirmaster Stuart Alexander and his 20+ strong choir, accompanied by Liz Turner on piano, delighted the crowds with an hour-long concert of traditional carols, varying the tempo throughout, from "Good rest ye merry gentlemen" to "The nine days of Christmas" and plenty more besides.
The Christmas Tree Singers created a piece of history too; on the 200th anniversary since the creation of "A Silent Night", the choir performed it for the very first time in Luxembourgish, courtesy of a translation by Jos Berg.
After the traditional finale of "We wish you a merry Christmas", there was time for one more. Austria's Ambassador to Luxembourg, Gregor Schusterschitz, explained that "Silent Night" was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in a small town (Oberndorf, near Salzburg) in Austria in 1818, and was declared an intangible cultural heritage asset by UNESCO in 2011.
The Luxembourg City Tourist Office (LCTO) handed out candles for the audience to light and hold while singing the carol on its 200th anniversary. The Austrian Embassy had also held a competition on social media to find the best sung version of the carol in Luxembourg, up to midnight on Saturday night.
