Christmas records are how a lot of Renaissance groups make their money, and our passing familiarity with major Christmas tunes can be a window into how Renaissance music re-worked pre-existing musical material. One of Chanticleer’s main wheelhouses is Renaissance music, making this record a sweet spot between deep early-music culture and the mainstream.  Familiar cuts like Praetorius’ “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” showcase the overlap between Renaissance and contemporary taste, while deeper cuts like Jacob Handl’s “Hodie Christus natus est” and the anonymous Spanish “Verbum caro factum est” showcase underrated corners of the repertoire.  The same ensemble’s Psallite!: A Renaissance Christmas offers a deeper dive into the Renaissance-music capabilities of this vaunted, rich-toned vocal ensemble.