Florida’s Singing Sons Boychoir.

If you’re anything like me, the late Thanksgiving this year has meant that Christmas has crept right up on you and caught you nearly unawares.

Musically, that has meant a great pile-up of holiday concerts in the past couple weeks, but even though the window is closing fast, there are still a few chances left to immerse yourself in the music of the season.

Florida’s Singing Sons Boychoir: Trinity Cathedral in downtown Miami must have been very impressive when it was the dominant building on its block, but now it sits somewhat oddly in the middle of highway sprawl and giant hotels. Still, it’s a beautiful, resonant place to see a concert, and on Sunday, the Florida Singing Sons Boychoir performs its version of the Festival of Lessons and Carols, which dates back to 1880, and was first broadcast from King’s College in Cambridge, England, in 1918 (today’s technology will allow you to listen to it from there on Christmas Eve if you want, via www.bbc.co.uk).

The music for this particular service, in which the boys will be joined by the Anglican Chorale of Southeast Florida , is heavily English, with pieces or arrangements by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Harold Darke, Richard Rodney Bennett, Gustav Holst and Patrick Hadley, among others, and with the major carols (i.e. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; O Come, All Ye Faithful; Once in Royal David’s City; and others) in the familiar arrangements by David Willcocks.

Some of the descants Willcocks has written for these old familiar carols are almost as well-known as the songs themselves, and the beauty of his choral writing remains the gold standard for knowing how to write for an occasion; his contribution to the sound of Christmas as we know it is little appreciated outside church circles.

The service is set for 5 p.m. Sunday at Trinity Cathedral; call 305-374-3372 or visit www.trinitymiami.org. George Frideric Handel (1685-1759).

Messiah: There’s nothing in the repertoire quite like this oratorio by George Frideric Handel, first performed in Dublin in April 1742, and an instant success that has continued without interruption to the present day. That alone makes it astonishing, but it’s even more remarkable when you consider that it is, in fact, a piece for Easter and not for Christmas.

Most of the performances we hear of this indisputably great work consist just of the “Christmas portion,” which is most of Part I, the end of Part II (ending with the Hallelujah chorus), and most of Part III. It’s been hugely popular in English-speaking countries, particularly with the “singalong” Messiah performances, but those seem to have faded somewhat in recent years; newer generations of people know the work through recorded and live performances rather than by participating in it themselves.

But that’s not likely to diminish the durability of this oratorio as a regular feature of our Christmases here in the Anglophone West. As I’ve mentioned in the past, a Knight Random Act of Culture presentation of the Hallelujah chorus as done by the Opera Company of Philadelphia at Macy’s in 2010 is one of the most popular videos of its type (as of today, it’s had close to 8.5 million views on YouTube).

Seraphic Fire, which just finished its annual Christmas concerts, tackles Messiah (just the Christmas portion) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Boca Raton, Coral Gables and Fort Lauderdale, respectively. The Lauderdale performance is already sold out, and surely the other two are not far behind. The choir had decided not to program the piece in years past, but demand and reliable box office have restored it to their regular repertory, and that’s no surprise.

The concerts are set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Boca Raton; 8 p.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Coral Gables; and at 4 p.m. Sunday at All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are $65; call 305-285-9060 or visit www.seraphicfire.org.