Christmas is about both the traditional and about the new, the familiar and the foreign — and so are a batch of fine new compact discs, recently released in time for the holidays. More than any other holiday, Christmas is about choral music, and most of these discs reflect that.

A new recording from the St. Louis Chamber Chorus is always notable; this Christmas recording is special indeed. "Christmas from Saint Louis" (Regent Records REGCD373) combines the old and new: five carols commissioned by the SLCC, one by artistic director Philip Barnes, four traditional American carols, along with "Scenes from the Holy Infancy," by Kansas City-born Virgil Thomson, and music by Peter Tchaikovsky and others. The region's finest a cappella choir sings it all with vocal beauty, thoughtful delivery and a nicely blended ensemble, along with some outstanding solo work, on a well-engineered CD.

In the same vein is "Sleep, Holy Babe: A Collection of Christmas Lullabies" (Naxos 8.572868), by the British choir Blossom Street. Eight of its 12 selections are world premiere recordings, including one, "Sleep, My Dreaming One," by director Hilary Campbell. The voices are lovely and the music is in a contemplative vein, just right for those days when relentless commercial holiday music threatens to overwhelm the holiday spirit.

For those of us whose Christmas begins with the BBC's broadcast of Lessons and Carols on Dec. 24, the music of English men-and-boy choirs is an imperative. A pleasing new recording from the Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge. "On Christmas Night" (Chandos CHSA 5096), conducted by Andrew Nethsingha, brings together traditional music from England, France and Germany, along with modern classics, including arrangements by Philip Ledger and David Willcocks.

Paul Hillier is a reliably inventive conductor with an ear for fine choral singing. His new "The Christmas Story" (Theatre of Voices, Ars Nova Copenhagen; Harmonia Mundi HMU 807556), recorded with a solid group of Scandinavian singers, gives the whole story, from Advent and the Annunciation through Epiphany and the Holy Innocents, along with an "epilogue" of secular favorites, concluding with figgy pudding.

The Etherea Vocal Ensemble lives up to its name, with some lovely singing. It consists of five sopranos, two altos and a countertenor, the last of whom doubles as artistic director. "Ceremony of Carols" (Delos DE 3422) begins with a fine rendition of the Benjamin Britten classic and concludes with John Rutter's "Dancing Day," with Charles Gounod's "Noel" and other works, mostly for voice and harp, in between.

On the more casual and eclectic side (as perhaps befits a San Jose, Calif.-based choir) is the Choral Project's "Yuletide" (Clarion CLCD-941). There are several fun variations on a wassailing theme, along with effective versions of "Silent Night, "I Wonder as I Wander," and Healy Willan's setting of "Hodie Christus Natus Est."

Whether or not you enjoy John Rutter's "The Colors of Christmas" (Decca B0016092-02) will depend on whether you enjoy his more commercial oeuvre as well as the traditional arrangements with which he established his reputation. This one, conducted by the composer and performed by the Bach Choir and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, is alternately gorgeous and jingle-jangly (his "Shepherd's Pipe Carol," also known as "Attack of the Killer Piccolo," is mercifully absent), but it's all performed to a high standard.

If you prefer purely instrumental music, here are three discs for you:

"Christmas with London Brass" (Teldec 2564 68618-0) does have "Shepherd's Pipe Carol," along with arrangements of everything from "Veni, veni Emmanuel" to "Jingle Bells," and plenty of other traditional tunes in between, all in big, impressive arrangements from the 14-instrument ensemble.

"A Steinway Christmas Album: Piano Music for the Season" (Steinway & Sons 034062300051) features both a keepsake Steinway lyre Christmas ornament and the notable artistry of pianist Jeffrey Biegel on a Steinway Model D. Biegel's always-clear playing ranges from the jazzy to the majestic, in a nicely varied selection of classics and modern tunes.

Improvisation today seems to be the preserve of jazz musicians and classical organists. "Christmas: Improvisations on International Christmas Songs" (Carus 83.368), by German organist Kay Johannsen on the 81-stop Muhleisen organ in the Stiftskirche Stuttgart, is just that: pure improvisations, without sheet music. Some of Johannsen's inventions are daring; some are brilliant; most of them are entertaining, in the best sense of the word.