Blue Ridge Singers will present Canticum Novum: Sing a New Song on December 15. The choir will explore a new harmonic language through the music of Gerald Near. Prominent in this music is the juxtaposition of melodies of Latin Gregorian chant with polyphonic choral settings of more common Christmas carols. The choir is accompanied by the organ with a good deal of intense, but controlled dissonance. Because of the nonmetric nature of Gregorian chant, the music is rhythmically challenging as well. The choir will contrast this style with a variety of works featuring Renaissance polyphony, a nineteenth-century chorale and fugue by Johannes Brahms and contemporary settings of carols, old and new. This will be an eclectic, but enjoyable program, with something for everyone.