The Promise of Ages: A Christmas Collection will be a unique favorite for even the most avid collectors of Christmas albums. Many of the more than 25 selections are unfamiliar, and even the familiar ones have novel arrangements. Many of the selections are taken from the new edition of the renowned Oxford Book of Carols, of which Andrew Parrott is co-editor. They range from "The Coventry Carol" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" to lesser known but equally beautiful chants and folk songs which form the foundation of our experience of the Christmas season today.

Parrott uses traditional folk instruments of the British Isles in many of the arrangements on this album, and Emily Van Evera, the familiar voice of popular chant crossover albums, is a featured soloist on many tracks.