Annie Lennox’s passionate collection of festive hymns plays down the secular trimmings and returns the holiday to its origins as a time for devotion and taking stock. With the exception of the serene “Universal Child”, all the songs are traditional carols and hymns of some vintage, and have been given appropriately folkish arrangements in which guitars are plucked reverently and recorders chirp. Meanwhile, a heavenly choir of Annie Lennoxes channels the righteous spirit of Christmas past.