Reginald Jacques was born in 1894 in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire and studied at Queen's College, Oxford, where he later became organist and director of music in 1926.
Reginald Jacques was also conductor of the Oxford Orchestra Society from 1930 to 1936. From 1931 to 1960 he was conductor of The Bach Choir in London. In 1936 he founded his own Jacques Orchestra, which he conducted until 1960. In 1954 he was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He died in 1969.

John Rutter was born in London in 1945 and studied music at Clare College, Cambridge. His compositions embrace choral, orchestral, and instrumental music, and he has edited or co-edited various choral anthologies, including four Carols for Choirs volumes with Sir David Willcocks and the Oxford Choral Classics series. From 1975 to 1979 he was Director of Music at Clare College, and in 1981 he formed his own choir, the Cambridge Singers. He now divides his time between composition and conducting and is sought after as a guest conductor for the world's leading choirs and orchestras.

Born in 1919, David Willcocks began his musical career as a chorister at Westminster Abbey, later winning scholarships to Clifton College and King's College, Cambridge. Following war service, he was elected Fellow of King's College, and later became Organist of Salisbury and Worcester Cathedrals, conducting the Three Choirs Festival whilst at Worcester.
Willcocks returned to King's College, Cambridge as Director of Music from 1957-1974, with the first collection of his arrangements in the Carols for Choirs series publishing in 1961. He was Director of Music at the Royal College of Music from 1974-1984, and was knighted in the Queen's Silver Jubilee Honours List in 1977. Willcocks also conducted The Bach Choir for 38 years, retiring in 1998.
Sir David died in September 2015.