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  Les Arts Florissants UCLA Live presents artistic director William Christie and the world renowned French early music ensemble Les Arts Florissants on Dec. 2.

By Chris Moriates

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

It’s the holidays, and that means out comes the holiday music. But this time of year does not bring out just those old Chipmunks Christmas albums, but also provides some rare, somewhat more cultured, performances and opportunities.

World-renowned French early music ensemble, Les Arts Florissants and Artistic Director William Christie, will perform Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Nöels in their UCLA debut at Royce Hall this Sunday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.

Les Arts Florissants’ three-week tour highlights its much-anticipated release, “Messe de Minuit” (Erato-Warner October 2001).

Although this is the ensemble’s first visit to Royce Hall, it tours widely and has regular performances at the Opéra National de Paris, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Barbican Centre, Lincoln Center and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

The “Messe de Minuit” adapts a series of traditional Christmas tunes, and applies them to a liturgical text. The performance is a great example of mixing high art with pop culture.

Tickets to Les Arts Florissants are available for $55, $45, $35 and $16 (UCLA students with valid ID) at the UCLA Central Ticket Office at the southwest corner of the James West Alumni Center, online at http://www.performingarts.ucla.edu and at all Ticketmaster outlets.