They call the program We Three Kings, named after the group's new Christmas CD and title-track carol. And true, the Irish Tenors' program features familiar carols (Silent Night), holiday tunes (Santa Claus Is Coming to Town) and inspirational songs (Nearer My God to Thee, America the Beautiful), most of them sung in harmony by the trio of Anthony Kearns, Ronan Tynan and Finbar Wright.

But songs of Irish culture and heritage and epic battles for freedom, plus picturesque ballads dominated the second half -- O Danny Boy, of course, leading the pack -- followed by most of the evening's solos.

The Tenors descended on the Kravis Center Sunday night with orchestra, hefty program and large audience in tow. Their holiday assortment ranged from the traditional to the contemporary, sung in Spanish, Latin, French and English -- or in combination, for some songs. Altogether it was an uplifting, joyous night of favorites well done, though not without a few rough spots among the 23 songs, two overtures and three encores. The evening's best, O Holy Night and You'll Never Walk Alone (from Carousel), were both led by Anthony -- to borrow the CD's informal style of credits.

Throughout, the onstage 40-piece orchestra of Florida players was led by tour conductor and Three Kings CD producer Arnie Roth. The orchestra, in addition to playing two instrumental overtures, was essential to the program's richness with one highlight especially, the unnamed horn soloist in the Carousel excerpt. Only once did the group really falter: The Irish overture that opened the second half sounded like someone learning to speak a foreign language but unsure of which syllable to accent.

The Tenors had their rougher moments, too, like Franck's Panis Angelicus, where the tempo was totally up -- or down -- for grabs. Ronan finally won out, but the metronomic compromise was too unsettled to be inspirational or meditative.

The musical arrangements, especially the solos, were clearly tailor-made and suited each voice. Trios early in the first half, though well-written, tended to be conservative compared to later, more elaborate compositions.

Anthony's voice, except for a hint of cold-related congestion, is lovely from top to bottom with a particularly vivid mid-range. With nobility of delivery in It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, he connects thoroughly with the music -- even better than on the CD -- and then with the audience.

The most operatic of the three, Anthony's my pick. But give any one of them the chance to ornament an Irish tune, and all three can finesse it in liltingly smooth fashion -- naturally fast, Irish-style vibrato notwithstanding -- and with tremendous breath control. Singing all-out in rich, close, three-part harmony for So This Is Christmas, they're so well-matched vocally, and amplified so evenly, that with a slight stretch of the imagination, they might be considered the Irish "Supremes."

As listener-friendly as the CD We Three Kings is, it's the live stage show that brings out the vocal colors, the personalities and ultimately the most memorable music.