Britten Sinfonia has decided to go big for its first major concert in Brighton.

For its performance of Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ, the stage will be filled with a 45-strong orchestra and 42 singers.

It is also premiering its new professional choir at the Dome Concert Hall.

“The Voices will mirror the distinctive traits of the orchestra, namely a group of the highest quality musicians with chamber music at their core, equally adept at performing in a range of musical styles and settings,” says David Butcher, Britten Sinfonia’s chief executive.

To add an extra touch of quality to the celebrations, the Sinfonia is welcoming Sir Mark Elder, one of the UK’s most distinguished conductors, as guest conductor for the oratorio.

“Sir Mark is one of the world’s finest,” adds Butcher.

“He is British. He has made his name with the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. We are completely thrilled that he wants to work with Britten Sinfonia.”

Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ is what Elder wanted to do.

“He loves the piece. And we’ve been talking about this project for 18 months.”

While Butcher and Elder have been talking about Berlioz, the Sinfonia has been in talks with the Brighton Dome about becoming its chamber orchestra in residence, which has now been confirmed.

“We’ve played the Brighton Festival over the years. We collaborated with Joanna MacGregor, the pianist based in Kemp Town, recently and I admire what Andrew Comben, Brighton Dome and Festival chief executive, is doing. He has kept a beady eye on the range of work we do and in short we have been invited to perform more in Brighton. It’s going to be a range of projects and range of music.

"We want to be embedded in the community. We don’t want to parachute in and disappear.”

Butcher says the benefit is that the Sinfonia will get to know its audience and the audience will learn about the Sinfonia, so a trust and a partnership develops.

“It sounds a bit sugary but it’s wonderful as an orchestra in front of an audience you know.”

Welcoming in Sir Mark Elder for the first concert is a big coup. To make sure the piece goes off with a bang, the conductor has spent the past year and a half thinking about the piece, studying the score.

“I can’t even remember ever hearing it live, since it is very rarely done,” explains the conductor.

“I’ve studied it, and thought about it, and I think I have an old recording of it. I’ve been thinking about L’enfance du Christ for many months and letting it marinate inside me.”

An oratorio is like an opera with a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias, but is not a piece of musical theatre.

Thus, as opposed to an opera where the story is played out, the huge drama in the story is told through the music.

“This is the story of Herod and Jesus leaving Bethlehem and that extraordinary journey,” says Butcher.

“More than certain oratorios, or even requiems, this is a real journey. The music really does fit the drama being described. One of the famous scenes is Herod having a dream. It is a masterpiece in a scene of music. And this dreamlike music will be sung by Neil Davies, who is an absolutely fantastic bass.

“Then there is The Shepherds’ Farewell that is sung by church choirs across the country. The audience will recognise this famous carol in the midst – that’s why Berlioz wrote it.”

L’enfance du Christ was written in French and the Sinfonia will sing it in the language Berlioz intended. The translation will be in the programme for the audience to follow.

Although not strictly a Christmas work, the three-part piece has become synonymous with this time of year.

“It is a great thing to start the Christmas season,” believes Butcher.

Another pleasing coincidence is that Sir Mark (who has been director of the Hallé since 2000 and worked with many of the world’s leading symphony orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Paris, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra) will be conducting a work, written by the Frenchman in 1853, which his own orchestra premiered to British audiences more than a century ago.

“Each particular scene has its own timbre. It is not a rich, 20th-century sound but rather more restrained, with little vibrato in the voices and instruments. One has to make the drama of the words live without being too respectful – you need to give it full blood. Thinking about this and getting to grips with this is something I adore.”

Saturday, December 10, doors 7.30pm, from £7.50 to £27.50. Call 01273 709709