The Singers, with "What Sweeter Music," and VocalEssence, with "Welcome Christmas," have long-established traditions of festive holiday concerts. One can take for granted great musicmaking from both organizations, although the experiences are very different. The Singers is a chamber choir singing a cappella, VocalEssence, a massed choir with orchestral accompaniment.

The major work on the Vocal- Essence program was Stephen Paulus' oratorio, "So Hallow'd Is the Time." Structured on the "Messiah" model, it has no strict narrative, but weaves texts, here by writers from the Middle Ages to the 17th century, including Shakespeare, Milton and Donne, into a telling of the Nativity story.

From movements of great drama for massed choir to a gentle lullaby for mother and child (with a boy soprano Jesus), this is a work full of striking and deeply moving moments. Philip Brunelle, who led one of the first performances following its 1980 premiere, conducted it here as a work of faith, finding a deep spirituality in Paulus' evocative melodies. The chorus responded with a robust and committed reading.

The highlight of The Singers' program was Poulenc's "Quatre motets pour le temp de Noel." From hushed expressions of divine mysteries to unfettered fortes of joy, the chorus and conductor Matthew Culloton gave the Latin motets a truly liturgical feel, capturing Poulenc's contemporary yet antique sound.

VocalEssence focused on French carols, divided between the 45-member Ensemble Singers and full chorus. There were familiar carols, some of surprisingly French origins, such as "Angels We Have Heard on High," "O Holy Night" and "Ding Dong! Merrily on High," plus unfamiliar ones well worth discovering, all given sparkling performances.

The Singers presented a more international repertoire, including music of Scandinavia and English carols by such British masters as William Walton, Benjamin Britten and John Rutter. These were followed by several American carols, from a rousing performance of an 18th-century one by William Billings to a touching rendition of "The Cherry Tree Carol," a Kentucky ballad. The evening was bookended by traditional carols, a couple of which were over-arranged, losing the simplicity of the original.

Brunelle invited the audience to sing along on a couple of carols, something that would have seemed out of place in The Singers' more formal atmosphere. But both concerts created enjoyable experiences.

William Randall Beard writes regularly about music.