After a good (or, more accurately, bad) year’s Covid absence, the Chanticleer singers were back once more in exemplary form, and we can properly celebrate Christmas again with their predictably profound and joyful sounds.

The dozen male vocalists—the only ones in the entire hall without masks—won sustained ovations Sunday from the crowd at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland as well as from Bishop Michael Barber in his low-key attendance as just one of many fans in the pews. We may not be back to normal yet, but no one will suppress the unbridled joy of the 2021 Christmas-holiday season.

The usual elements of a cappella (i.e., unaccompanied) singing, multi-lingual repertoire and high-range countertenors were supplemented by innovations of the new music director, Tim Keeler. This meant linking of composers from vastly different centuries and backgrounds setting the same carol texts. So the familiar carol “Lo, a Rose E’er Blooming” featured living composer Jonathan Woody as catalyst between Michael Praetorius and Hugo Distler, spanning four centuries in toto. The more it’s the same, the more it’s different.

This being the 400th anniversary of Praetorius’ passing, the emphasis was on German texts, as well as unharmonized Latin hymnody by the brilliant 12th century polymath German nun (and now saint), Hildegard von Bingen. Chanticleer may have its customary problems with German pronunciation—-it’s an “umlaut allergy,” some quip—-their Latin was articulate and unassailable. Singing as they do on pitch without a conductor or instrument accompanying is akin to walking a high wire over Niagara Falls. The groups is both virtuosic and expressive, without any question.

The expressiveness is especially attractive in the cathedral with its rich sonic resonance, where announcements carry throughout with no microphones anywhere. Sounds waft in the air richly and enduringly before fading. This is emblematic of a typical Catholic church, according to an acoustics lecture I heard at Cal, while typical Protestant churches feature a shorter sonic decay time favoring intelligibility of sermons more than song.

It’s no news that Chanticleer represents a pinnacle of vocal art. Most unusual of all is its ability to reproduce both male and mixed choral music, as half of the ensemble consists of rare countertenors singing in the alto range, about an octave and a half above middle C—usually younger men reaching for the sky acoustically. Adept countertenors belong in the Fort Knox of vocalists, the gold of the species.

This element was lustrous in “Rose of Roses” by the Swedish composer Fredrik Sixten, a work commissioned by Chanticleer, where a countertenor is offset against robust lower male voices in texts extolling Mary the mother of Jesus.

Among the other contemporary pieces was Melissa Dunphy’s “The Elements of the Sun Broke into Song,” which starts as chant but broadens out harmonically in ancient texts ascribed to Enoch, an antecedent of Noah.

And some of the most beautiful sounds emerged from the Latin “Ave, spes nostra” by Vicente Lusitano, an alluring antiphon with lingering resonances filling the hall. Never to be forgotten is the Chanticleer signature work “Ave Maria” by Franz Biebl, an obscure Bavarian composer who achieved world fame through this antiphonal vocal opus with delectable crescendos adopted by Chanticleer. Thereafter the singers finished off with lighter seasonal selections and the customary spirituals arranged by former Chanticleer singer and director Joseph Jennings.

The encore for the enthusiasts present was “Christmas Time is Here” by the late San Franciscan Vince Guaraldi.

Recalling the Magi of old, Chanticleer is itself a nomadic ensemble, singing a night each in many locales, this year through Dec. 23 in Northern California.

MUSIC NOTES—-The group had no public performances for 15 months ending in June, during which period they turned out three full-length films…Company members Keeler and Adam Ward produced new arrangements for this concert set…One of the memorable countertenors in this program was Logan Shields, the only singer with eyeglasses. Jeepers creepers, where’d you get those peepers?

CHANTICLEER CHRISTMAS CONCERTS, December 13-23 including Berkeley (13th), San Francisco (18th-19th). Also Santa Clara, Sacramento, Carmel. For info go online: www.chanticleer.org

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