For an uplifting and unusual Christmas program, we go to Chanticleer. As usual.

For a look at the roots of Christmas music around the world’s many centuries, it’s Chanticleer. As usual.

And this chorus? Never as usual.

The uplift of Chanticleer was quite literally visible when the crowd stood as one at the last notes, gave vent to its enthusiasm and demanded an encore, “Carol of the Bells.”

Take a dozen professional male singers with admirable articulation who can do, as here, seven languages quite passably in one night. Add some countertenors able to scale all the way up to the altos’ high G or A, thereby providing you music  for mixed chorus as well. And have some one like Music Director William Fred Scott spend hours delving through old manuscripts to serve up concert delicacies new and old dating as far back as the 16^th century.

Mix and serve. And there you have it: a unique unaccompanied ensemble.

Along with the classics, toss in some spirituals, and even a drinking song—how appropriate! The drinking song evolved into the popular carol we know as “Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella,” which choirs today even sing in church.

They’re not quite perfect. Some singers can grimace, or go gravelly reaching for the top of their range. But offset that with doing eight-voice pieces, staying on pitch, and telling about a Nativity scene where the ox ate a gentleman’s hat—it’s quite amazing.

There was even a world premiere at the Dec. 11 concert in Berkeley’s resonant First Congregational Church, now restored to all its (pre-devastating-2016-fire) glory.

The world premiere by Peter Bloesch, 58, “Behold a Simple, Tender Babe,” offered no surprises beyond the evocative imagery in Robert Southwell’s poetry. In his seven stanzas he alternated between full ensemble and segments thereof. The able soloist was Kory Reid with a voice that carried well.

A short excerpt in Russian from the Rachmaninoff “Vespers,” plus a modern opus in Swedish, brought the night’s total of languages sung to an amazing seven.

Chanticleer’s signature lies in its skill with polyphony—if not there, then in the antiphonal must-sing, the romantic “Ave Maria” by the 20-century Bavarian old-timer, Franz Biebl. These ran from the neglected early Florentine Francesco Corteccia up to innovator Giovanni Palestrina, who “saved” church music with a more streamlined style, allowing greater text intelligibility. There were unfamiliar old traditional works in French and Spanish, the last of them, “A Donkey Came to Bethlehem.” In this humorous rewrite of Scripture for village folk, the Magi bringing their gifts becomes the burro bringing chocolates. And a pretentious Galician fop appears with his hat, which the donkey proceeded to eat.

The earliest piece, apart from the processional chant, was the lilting German folk song from 1430, “A Linden Tree Stands in Heaven,” which could have used more rolling of the R’s.

Bringing down the house were   a mix of carols and moderns, among them the  humble Alpine-village opus that turned 200 this year, “Silent Night.” Winding up was the medley of spirituals left behind in arrangements by ex-group head Joseph Jennings. Here, the Chanticleer singers could swing, but none quite like Jennings performing himself, well remembered.

A CHANTICLEER CHRISTMAS, a cappella all-male chorus of always a dozen, repeating in Oakland, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Carmel, Santa Clara, San Francisco, through Dec. 23. For info: Go online.