Credit: Chorale Ste Cécile Hueschtert
Organisers have announced that the Chorale Ste Cécile Hueschtert will perform a free concert of Christmas music at 16:00 on Sunday 20 December 2026 at the Église de Hostert (Rue Principale, Hostert) near Niederanven.
The Chorale Ste Cécile Hueschtert is a traditional choir from the municipality of Niederanven, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2023. In 2024, it focused on well-known as well as lesser-known Luxembourgish Christmas carols, placing the richness of Luxembourg’s own Christmas tradition at the centre of the programme. In 2025, it broadened this perspective to encompass the cultural diversity of the municipality, performing Christmas songs from the ten countries most strongly represented among the population of Niederanven, in a total of eight different languages.
For 2026, the choir, accompanied on organist by Stefan Dorneanu, will perform a musical journey through the history of Christmas music, welcoming special guest Matt Walters, a British organist, composer and DJ who performs under the name “Reductio”, as a collaborator.
The programme will begin with “Rorate caeli”, a chant over 1,000 years old. From there, the journey will move through different periods and musical styles, from sacred music and traditional Christmas carols to contemporary music.
Matt Walters is currently composing a new Christmas piece especially for the occasion which be performed in public for the first time at the event.
Having studied Classics and Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, where he was awarded an organ scholarship, Matt Walters has become known above for his unusual arrangements, in which he blends classical works, church music and modern dance music. The influences in his concerts range from classical music through film and pop music to house and techno.
Speaking to Chronicle.lu, Choir director Laurent Karels highlighted her enthusiasm about the choir’s involvement in “such an ambitious and daring project” and noted the contrast of traditional and contemporary music coming together.
“What is particularly interesting is that Mark does not see tradition as the opposite of contemporary music. Rather, he tries to make familiar music accessible, through new soundscapes, to an audience that may be less familiar with classical (church) music. The concert will bring together two musical worlds that one would not normally associate with each other: classical and familiar Christmas music on the one hand, and electronic music and techno on the other... The result will be a Christmas concert unlike any that has probably been presented in Luxembourg,” remarked Laurent Karels.
She added: “Come and experience familiar Christmas songs in a completely new and unexpected way and join us for the world premiere of a brand-new song specially composed for this occasion by Matt Walters."
