Christmas Melodies at the Round Tower: Advent Concert with the chamber choir Richters Skala

Celebrate the light on St Lucia’s Day as the chamber choir Richters Skala fills the Round Tower’s beautiful, historic Library Hall with atmospheric choral music. Look forward to a special Advent concert featuring Nordic and international Christmas classics, musical interpretations of light and the stories of Christmas – as well as communal singing, with everyone invited to join in.

Please note the concert is in danish.

December 13 is traditionally the day of Saint Lucy, a Catholic saint whose name means the radiant. In Denmark, the day has become a cherished Advent tradition, with light and song reminding us of hope in the darkness of winter. Throughout 2026, the Round Tower has been celebrating light, marking the 350th anniversary of Ole Rømer’s discovery of the speed of light, and this evening will be no exception.

On St Lucia’s Day, audiences are invited to celebrate the light through music with the chamber choir Richters Skala and conductor Laus Richter Larsen, as they sing of light and the miracles of Christmas in the Round Tower’s Library Hall.

What to expect

The evening’s programme features music by Nordic composers such as Niels La Cour, Jan Sandström and Ola Gjeilo, alongside French composer Francis Poulenc and American composer Morten Lauridsen. Both offer their own interpretation of the text “O magnum mysterium”, which tells of the great mystery that took place on Christmas night. The choir will also perform a selection of beautiful Danish Christmas songs.

There will be opportunities for communal singing throughout the concert, inviting the audience to join in.

Programme:

• Det är en ros utsprungen / En rose så jeg skyde – Michael Praetorius / Jan Sandström
• Maria gennem torne går – German folk song / arr. Henrik Metz
• O magnum mysterium (from Quatre Motets pour le temps de Noël) – Francis Poulenc
• Quem vidistis (from Quatre Motets pour le temps de Noël) – Francis Poulenc
• Hodie Christus natus est (from 3 Motetti Latini) – Niels La Cour
• Coventry Carol – Ola Gjeilo
• O radiant dawn (from The Strathclyde Motets) – James MacMillan
• Dejlig er jorden – Silesian folk melody / arr. Rasmus Thaarup
• Kimer i klokker – Henrik Rung / arr. Ole Faurschou
• In the Bleak Midwinter – Gustav Holst
• Mit hjerte altid vanker – Norwegian variant of a Swedish folk melody / arr. Jan S. Bengtsson
• Ubi Caritas – Ola Gjeilo
• O magnum mysterium – Morten Lauridsen

Before and after the concert, you are welcome to explore the tower. Take some time to discover the two exhibitions, Light Echoes and Ole Rømer and the Great Discovery, each of which explores the role of light in science from a different perspective.

You can also make your way up the beautiful Spiral Ramp to the top, enjoy the view of Copenhagen from the viewing platform and take a look inside the newly restored Observatory.

About the choir

Richters Skala is a young Danish chamber choir consisting of 25 members. The choir specialises in the classical repertoire, with a particular passion for Nordic choral music.

The choir was founded by and is led by Laus Richter Larsen, who trained as a choral conductor, singer and vocal instructor at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.

Richters Skala is based at Emmaus Church in Frederiksberg.

The Advent concert is part of the Round Tower’s LIGHT YEAR 2026 programme – a year-long celebration of light and the 350th anniversary of Ole Rømer’s groundbreaking discovery of the speed of light.