Love Came Down at Christmas

Following on from the success of their “fabulous” first album LOVE IS., Myron and Archie, former boy choristers with the renowned Magdalen College Choir, Oxford, UK, are back with Love Came Down at Christmas, a stunning new recording of Christmas music arranged for treble duet.

Combining the charm of the familiar with the excitement of new discoveries, Love Came Down at Christmas brings together folk carols and premiere recordings across five languages, specially arranged for the rare and beautiful sound of the treble duet. The album pays tribute to the loss and suffering of the COVID pandemic during which it was created.

This poignant Christmas album centres on Olivier award-winning composer Michael Haslam’s setting of the text of Christina Rosetti's poem ‘Love Came Down at Christmas’. Especially written for Myron and Archie, it reverberates with the anticipation, exaltation, hope and peace of Christmas.

Track listing 1. Veni, veni Emmanuel Traditional * 2. Santa Lucia Teodoro Cottrau 3. Oh Holy Night Adolphe Adam 4. Mariä Wiegenlied Max Reger * 5. Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy Grossman, Fraser & Kohan 6. Love Came Down at Christmas Michael Haslam 7. Angels’ Carol John Rutter 8. L’Adieu des Bergers (from L’Enfance du Christ, Op.25) Hector Berlioz * 9. The Virgin’s Cradle Robert Dray * 10. Quelle est cette Odeur Agréable Traditional * 11. Away in a Manager James Ramsey Murray * 12. Es ist ein Ros Entsprungen Traditional * 13. In the Bleak Midwinter Harold Darke ** 14. Wexford Carol Magnificat Traditional

*Special arrangements by Michael Haslam

** Arranged for 2 trebles by Michael Haslam with kind permission from Stainer and Bell Ltd

Praise for Myron and Archie

“REALLY beautiful…. This CD is, unsurprisingly, wonderfully performed. But what I find extraordinarily touching is the idea of the race against time, be it to finish before voices break, or the race against the pandemic. What shines out is the determination to achieve all this beauty against enormous odds: it gives the music making an unusual depth which no listener could miss.” Sir Simon Rattle

"a fabulous album...I’ve listened to it all" Alexander Armstrong, Classic FM

“beautiful, inspirational music” “Two deeply impressive young artists” Reviews on Amazon

The story behind the album

Myron’s elder brother Kasper was born on Christmas day but last Christmas he turned 16 in hospital after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive childhood cancer. Witnessing first hand his brother’s illness and gruelling treatment, Myron and his friend Archie (a BBC Young Chorister of the Year semi-finalist) decided to record an album of music for treble duet to raise money for childhood cancer research. Their first album LOVE IS. was released in July 2021. Myron and Archie have been supported by musical talents including award-winning composer and arranger Michael Haslam, the Gabriel Quartet, pianist Maki Sekiya, organists Alex Pott and Daniel Matheson, and the producers and sound engineers who have made this unique musical project possible.

Love Came Down at Christmas is available to purchase/stream from Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify or direct from www.ordinarychild.co where donations are invited for Kasper’s fundraising. Proceeds from Love Came Down at Christmas will go to the Childhood Cancer Research Trust (www.childhoodcancerresearchtrust.org), a charity set up by Kasper to raise funds for childhood cancer research and to support other children living with cancer.

Kasper says: “My own survival is not in my control but what is possible is making a positive difference to the outcomes of children who come after me.”