Welcome to BBC Music Magazine's Christmas 2024 issue! This month's cover stars are surely Britain's most versatile and fun-loving singing ensemble: the many members of the multi-talented Bevan Family Consort.

Our writer Rebecca Franks enjoys festive frolics and more in the company of a bevy of Bevans including (but very much not limited to) sopranos Mary and Sophie. And, Inspired by the brilliant Bevans, Jeremy Pound surveys the history of music's most prolific families, from the Bachs via the Von Trapps to the Kanneh-Masons.

Elsewhere, we're sticking very much to the Christmas theme this issue. Ashutosh Khandekar dons hat, coat, scarf and gloves as he sets out to find the origins of one of our best-loved Christmas carols, In the Bleak Midwinter. And Andrew Green goes right back to the source to uncover the beginnings of another Christmas staple, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (essentially, it was a 19th-century bishop's inspired scheme to get Cornishmen out of the pub).

This issue's captivating musical personalities include the American conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, who - on the eve of his 80th birthday - looks back on a rich life of music-making in the company of Michael White. And we profile another American icon - Wendy Carlos, the pioneering composer and trans icon who switched millions on to electronic Bach.

This month's big interview is with the pianist Alexander Kantorow; for Musical Destinations, Adrian Mourby takes in the many musical delights of Oxford. For Composer of the Month we profile Leroy Anderson, the man behind the immortal Christmas classic 'Sleigh RIde'; and we're even staying with the wintry theme for Building a Library, in which Malcolm Hayes seeks out the best recordings of Richard Strauss's evocative Alpine Symphony.

Last but not least, gardener and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh gives us the six pieces of music that have helped to define him. Happy reading!

Here's a look at our cover CD this month - featuring a selection of much-loved Christmas carols from Portsmouth Cathedral. Click here or on the image to see the track details for this month's cover CD.