what is your favorite Christmas song(s) ?

[AGBF]

I attempted to post a link using Ellen's method, but it didn't work for me! I am sorry to waste space in this thread!

Deborah

 

[KimberlyH]

John Lennon's Christmas Song (I cry every time I hear it)

Dave Matthews Band Christmas Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdFZDKGO-A8

 

[Elmorton]

My favorite Christmas song is Hark the Herald Angels Sing closely followed by In the Deep Midwinter -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRobryliBLQ

For non-hymns, it''s really hard to pick a favorite - too much stuff gets me in the holiday mood!! Yesterday, DH surprised me with putting his iPod shuffle in our advent calendar - he''d downloaded the Mariah Carey Christmas album for me. "All I Want for Christmas is You" is a pretty hard song to top, IMO! I''ve been singing it in my head for weeks.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

I like "River" and "Wintersong" by Sarah McLachlan

I also cry at "Christmas Shoes"

And I had a sister who passed away in a fire when she was 3...but she loved "Up on the roof top"...and every time I hear it, it makes me smile.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 12/3/2008 9:46:57 PM
Author: Elmorton

My favorite Christmas song is Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Yes...that is among my top five. Singing the harmony to the "Glorias" in chorus is another cherished childhood musical memory! You would think we never sang except at Christmas time! (Perhaps that was true! We did seem to do a lot of songs in chorus for the Christmas performances!)


Deborah

 

[Cind11]

I love Christmas music.

I was curious and counted our CD''s the other day and we have forty some Christmas CD''s.

Carol of the Bells is probably my favorite and gives me chills when I hear it, especially if I hear it live!

I have two Chrsitmas CD''s that I love - one is "Christmas Night Carols of the Nativity" and the other is "Christmas with the Cambridge Singers" both sung by The Cambridge Singers and the City of London Sinfonia and conducted by John Rutter. Many of the carols I was not familar with, but they are beautiful.

As far as less choral sounding Christmas songs I like "The Christmas Song", "Silver Bells", and "Winter Wonderland". Listening to Christmas music just puts me in a great mood!

 

[kittybean]

Oh, I have so many favorites!

Traditional: O Little Town of Bethlehem, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Holy Night

Contemporary: All I Want for Christmas Is You, Mele Kalikimaka, Home for the Holidays, Rockin'' Around the Christmas Tree, Santa Baby, Let it Snow, Feliz Navidad, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, White Christmas

Like other posters, I also love Carol of the Bells. It is actually an Epiphany song for Ukrainians (the song originated in Ukraine). It is a tale of a swallow that predicts a bountiful harvest for a farmer. Here''s a little Wikipedia article about it.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/3/2008 5:08:07 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 12/3/2008 11:23:56 AM
Author: Ellen

This one. It takes on so much more meaning this year...

Ellen, I am sure that I have heard that John Lennon song hundreds of times, but somehow I never really ''heard'' the lyrics. I needed to see them the way I could when I watched this video to which you linked us. I found it really powerful, especially since I had heard it so many times and yet had never heard, ''The war is over...if you want to''. I had heard the supertext, but not the subtext.

Thank you for posting this.

Deb

You''re welcome. It''s a great song indeed.

However, I didn''t watch the whole video/read the words before I posted it. I just listened to it minimized once I knew the pic didn''t change, and it should actually read, "if you want it". Whoever made that vid goofed.

Also, I read your last post on the first page. Did you make sure to clear out the URL box before you tried linking? Try again!


And Cind, I love Carol of the Bells too. Here''s one of my favorite versions.

 

[Lorelei]

Christmas for me only really begins when I watch Carols From Kings on Christmas Eve. Linked is one of my favourites.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/4/2008 6:32:32 AM
Author: Lorelei
Christmas for me only really begins when I watch Carols From Kings on Christmas Eve. Linked is one of my favourites.

Lovely song, and that church is stunning.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/4/2008 7:00:46 AM
Author: Ellen

Date: 12/4/2008 6:32:32 AM
Author: Lorelei
Christmas for me only really begins when I watch Carols From Kings on Christmas Eve. Linked is one of my favourites.

Lovely song, and that church is stunning.

Yep, it is a beautiful song, and here are some images of the Kings College Chapel in Cambridge.

http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/gallery/index.html

Incredible history of the chapel

http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/visitors/history.html

 

[Ellen]

Oh wow, you really get the flavor of how massive that place is by the outside shots. Awesome.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/4/2008 7:38:49 AM
Author: Ellen
Oh wow, you really get the flavor of how massive that place is by the outside shots. Awesome.

It really is!!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/4/2008 7:33:47 AM
Author: Lorelei

Incredible history of the chapel

http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/visitors/history.html

"From the first, the College''s buildings were intended to be a magnificent display of the power of royal patronage and Henry went to great lengths to ensure that King''s College Chapel would be without equal in size and beauty"

Check! So interesting Lorelei, thanks for posting this.

*must read the rest*

 

[AGBF]

Date: 12/4/2008 12:28:31 AM
Author: Cind11

I have two Chrsitmas CD''s that I love - one is ''Christmas Night Carols of the Nativity'' and the other is ''Christmas with the Cambridge Singers'' both sung by The Cambridge Singers and the City of London Sinfonia and conducted by John Rutter. Many of the carols I was not familar with, but they are beautiful.

I have the CD, "Olde English Madrigals and Folk Songs at Ely Cathedral" by John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers. I have a particular fondness for madrigals so this is the right one for me! I sang one of the songs on the CD ("Now is the Month of Maying") with a group of other teachers who were willing to sing in our free time years ago when I was teaching school! It is not really Christmas music, but it has some songs like, "Greensleeves", on it that are played at Christmas time.


Deborah

 

[AGBF]

Date: 12/3/2008 10:57:50 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 12/3/2008 9:46:57 PM
Author: Elmorton

My favorite Christmas song is Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Yes...that is among my top five. Singing the harmony to the ''Glorias'' in chorus is another cherished childhood musical memory! You would think we never sang except at Christmas time! (Perhaps that was true! We did seem to do a lot of songs in chorus for the Christmas performances!)

I am losing my mind! There are no "Glorias" in "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!" Why didn''t someone correct me? I was thinking of, "Angels We Have Heard on High"!!! I love the former song, but it is "Angels We Have Heard on High" that has the "Glorias" and that is among my top five!!!


Deb

 

[Cind11]

Date: 12/4/2008 6:11:23 AM
Author: Ellen

Date: 12/3/2008 5:08:07 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 12/3/2008 11:23:56 AM
Author: Ellen

This one. It takes on so much more meaning this year...

Ellen, I am sure that I have heard that John Lennon song hundreds of times, but somehow I never really ''heard'' the lyrics. I needed to see them the way I could when I watched this video to which you linked us. I found it really powerful, especially since I had heard it so many times and yet had never heard, ''The war is over...if you want to''. I had heard the supertext, but not the subtext.

Thank you for posting this.

Deb

You''re welcome. It''s a great song indeed.

However, I didn''t watch the whole video/read the words before I posted it. I just listened to it minimized once I knew the pic didn''t change, and it should actually read, ''if you want it''. Whoever made that vid goofed.

Also, I read your last post on the first page. Did you make sure to clear out the URL box before you tried linking? Try again!


And Cind, I love Carol of the Bells too. Here''s one of my favorite versions.

I have that CD. That is a great version!!!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/4/2008 7:44:04 AM
Author: Ellen

Date: 12/4/2008 7:33:47 AM
Author: Lorelei

Incredible history of the chapel

http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/visitors/history.html

''From the first, the College''s buildings were intended to be a magnificent display of the power of royal patronage and Henry went to great lengths to ensure that King''s College Chapel would be without equal in size and beauty''

Check! So interesting Lorelei, thanks for posting this.

*must read the rest*

Most welcome, it is fascinating stuff!

 

[Cind11]

Date: 12/4/2008 8:54:45 AM
Author: AGBF

Date: 12/4/2008 12:28:31 AM
Author: Cind11

I have two Chrsitmas CD''s that I love - one is ''Christmas Night Carols of the Nativity'' and the other is ''Christmas with the Cambridge Singers'' both sung by The Cambridge Singers and the City of London Sinfonia and conducted by John Rutter. Many of the carols I was not familar with, but they are beautiful.

I have the CD, ''Olde English Madrigals and Folk Songs at Ely Cathedral'' by John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers. I have a particular fondness for madrigals so this is the right one for me! I sang one of the songs on the CD (''Now is the Month of Maying'') with a group of other teachers who were willing to sing in our free time years ago when I was teaching school! It is not really Christmas music, but it has some songs like, ''Greensleeves'', on it that are played at Christmas time.


Deborah

Singing with the other teachers sounds like it would have been great fun! I had a "record" store try to order some other Cambridge Singers CD''s for me, but they were unable to get them in for some reason. I should probably try Amazon.

 

[Sparkalicious]

Another vote for O Holy Night - My absolute Christmas favourite! I always get chills when it is sung beautifully!

 

[AGBF]

The Little Drummer Boy

This is the version of, "The Little Drummer Boy" made popular in the 1960''s; it is by the Harry Simeone Chorale. There is another version available on YouTube which actually shows a portion of the animated film (cartoon) from which the song is taken. The sound quality is better on that clip than it is in this clip, but I did not link to it because it is clearly a Christian story and I felt that by doing a thread on Christmas music we are already walking a thin edge on religion. If anyone wants to go looking on YouTube for the video clip that shows the little boy having his lamb healed by Jesus, it is available on there. (I "favorited" it for myself.)

I will also post another version of, "The Little Drummer Boy" sung by a high school chorus of which I have become quite fond. I think it is a charming song.

Deborah

 

[AGBF]

The Little Drummer Boy -1958 Version


This is another version of, "The Little Drummer Boy".


Deborah

 

[AGBF]

The Little Drummer Boy-Liberty High School


This version of, "The Little Drummer Boy" is not as polished as the professional versions, but it is sweet to see the high school students singing it. At least I thought so .

Deborah

 

[AGBF]

Angels We Have Heard On High

This version of, "Angels We Have Heard On High" was done by the Liberty High School choir at one of its Christmas concerts. It is not a professional version, of course, but I love it.


Deborah

 

[gwendolyn]

Wow, no one else has "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole in their favourites?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oj3jixMGaw

I also love "Old City Bar" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It makes me cry (the happy kind) every time I hear it; it perfectly encapsulates what Christmas feels like to me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F3WJTictHA

John Lennon''s "War Is Over" is also in the top five. "Carol of the Bells" and "O Holy Night" are up there too.

 

[AGBF]

Some years I have gotten a lot of pleasure from holiday recipe threads-especially cookie threads-but I think that this year I have been too down. I think that I have needed more instant gratification and that that is why this thread has been so wonderful for me . When I come here, all I have to do is to click on a link and I am transported to an audio or an audio and video clip that someone else really likes. (I had never heard the song, "Old City Bar", that Gwendolyn gave the link for just above. This year I have really been exposed to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.)

This thread has also led me to search YouTube for recordings of music I know and has led me to wander around on Amazon sampling carols in different genres. Sometimes I get frustrated that others are not posting as much here as I am, but then I think of Skippy and how actively she was posting in the cookie thread while I had no energy to do so. I guess we are all where we are supposed to be!

Merry Christmas, everybody!!! And happy other holidays, too!

Deb

 

[Elmorton]

Lorelei, I've been listening to that hymn all week - my dad recorded the music at our midnight mass last year to make a CD for a friend I grew up with who was serving in Iraq, and I lucked out with a copy. You're absolutely right - I get chills down my spine when I hear the soloist sing those first few lines, and then it really is Christmas when the organ hits the first chord of the second verse and we all begin to sing

Deb, whoa - I made the same mistake!!! Angels we have heard on high...I'm a fan of the glorias also...and the line "and the mountains in reply" - I don't know why, I've always liked the phrase/image.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 12/5/2008 10:33:19 PM
Author: Elmorton

Deb, whoa - I made the same mistake!!! Angels we have heard on high...I'm a fan of the glorias also...and the line 'and the mountains in reply' - I don't know why, I've always liked the phrase/image.

Elmorton, You made me feel much better! It is wonderful not to feel alone. I love Pricescope.


Deb

 

[Ellen]

Date: 12/5/2008 9:08:43 PM
Author: AGBF




Some years I have gotten a lot of pleasure from holiday recipe threads-especially cookie threads-but I think that this year I have been too down. I think that I have needed more instant gratification and that that is why this thread has been so wonderful for me . When I come here, all I have to do is to click on a link and I am transported to an audio or an audio and video clip that someone else really likes. (I had never heard the song, 'Old City Bar', that Gwendolyn gave the link for just above. This year I have really been exposed to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.)

This thread has also led me to search YouTube for recordings of music I know and has led me to wander around on Amazon sampling carols in different genres. Sometimes I get frustrated that others are not posting as much here as I am, but then I think of Skippy and how actively she was posting in the cookie thread while I had no energy to do so. I guess we are all where we are supposed to be!

Merry Christmas, everybody!!! And happy other holidays, too!

Deb

I'm sorry to hear that you, I hope things start looking up. And no need to apologize, I like seeing you around.

Here's a snappy lil tune to cheer you up. I have one or two of his xmas Cd's, he's got some great songs/versions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCUwpKspFG0&feature=related


Here's another of my favorites of his, the only version they had. It doesn't start from the very beginning, but you get the gist. Easy on the eyes too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azhWHr1vymA

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/5/2008 10:33:19 PM
Author: Elmorton
Lorelei, I''ve been listening to that hymn all week - my dad recorded the music at our midnight mass last year to make a CD for a friend I grew up with who was serving in Iraq, and I lucked out with a copy. You''re absolutely right - I get chills down my spine when I hear the soloist sing those first few lines, and then it really is Christmas when the organ hits the first chord of the second verse and we all begin to sing

Deb, whoa - I made the same mistake!!! Angels we have heard on high...I''m a fan of the glorias also...and the line ''and the mountains in reply'' - I don''t know why, I''ve always liked the phrase/image.

I am so glad!