Katie Derham introduces a special retelling of the Christmas story through the music of John Rutter, whose immensely popular carols bring pleasure to millions around the world. Recorded at Dorchester Abbey and conducted by Rutter himself, the programme features some of the composer's best loved music alongside other Christmas favourites close to his heart. Rutter reflects on some of the stories surrounding his work, such as the Picasso painting which inspired his ever-popular Shepherd's Pipe Carol, written when he was just sixteen. Gerald Finley and Elin Manahan Thomas are the soloists, with the Aurora Orchestra, the Children's International Voices of Enfield and John Rutter's own choir, the Cambridge Singers. Extracts from the Nativity story in the King James translation are read by Simon Russell Beale.