RAYMOND Gubbay once again presents a superb evening of classics performed in an evocative candle-lit-style setting at The Anvil on Sunday, December 3, at 7.30pm.

The "by candlelight" concerts are always popular and this particular evening, Mozart: A Celebration of 250 Years - which marks the anniversary of the incomparable composer - will be no exception.

The Mozart Festival Orchestra will be dressed in period costume and joined by one of Britain's leading clarinettists, Mark Van De Wiel.

Directed by English conductor and historical keyboard specialist Steven Devine, the programme includes Overture: The Marriage of Figaro, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Piano Concerto no 21, Clarinet Concerto and Symphony no 40.

The Mozart Festival Orchestra, which regularly performs in period costume, was formed by Raymond Gubbay in 1991. The orchestra has undertaken a national tour every November for the past 10 years with its highly successful programmes Mozart By Candlelight and The Four Seasons By Candlelight.

Tickets for the event are priced from £17.50 to £26, with £2 off for under-16s.

On Tuesday, December 5, The Anvil presents Frost and Fire: Singing The Season with Norma Waterson, Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy and Tim Van Eyken, at 7.45pm.

Frost and Fire is an evening of music, song, dance and mime from a time when Pagan rite and Christian rhyme lived side by side; a time when Christmas was perhaps less of a marketing opportunity and more of an expression of continuity.

This is a uniquely English take on the sort of thing found in just about every culture in the world.

For more than 30 years, Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy have been at the forefront of the English folk scene. Martin's remarkable and influential career has been celebrated with an MBE and various BBC Radio 2 awards. Norma, also awarded an MBE for services to English music and fellow recipient of BBC Radio 2 awards, is one of the country's finest, most emotive singers, with her wonderfully compassionate voice.

They will be joined by their daughter, singer and fiddle player Eliza Carthy, herself a double Mercury music prize nominee and winner of three BBC Radio 2 awards.

The group also features honorary family member, melodeon player Tim Van Eyken, whose own band Dr Faustus are adding to the ranks of young performers with a passion for English traditional music.

Together, they form one of Britain's most successful and influential folk bands, Waterson:Carthy.

But this is no ordinary Waterson:Carthy concert. Rising stars of the folk world, The Devil's Interval, and mummers, dancers and a brass section will make this a Christmas celebration to remember.

All tickets for Frost and Fire are priced from £18, with concessions £15.

Further information about events at The Anvil is available from the box office on 01256 844244 or online at www.theanvil.org.uk