Christmas music

I love the Pogues Fairytale of New York (sorry Lucretzia). Also Chris de Burgh’s A Spaceman Came Travelling, but I’m also a sucker for any of the traditional carols.

If you love Christmas music you must listen to this - it is glorious.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7qYeZcOioI

Chris de Burgh, A Spaceman Came Travelling gives me goosebumps. Other than that, I'm not keen on Christmas songs. And SO fed up of hearing the same songs every year since the 1970s, Slade, John and Yoko, Wizzard etc. . . I try to avoid hearing them if I can as they actually make me depressed!

Greyduster Troika is one of my all time favourites too, such a magical atmosphere.

As for carols, all my life I've loved Once in Royal David's City, although so many others come close - Oh come Oh Come Emmanual, Guadete, The Coventry Carol, The Carol of the Bells. And how can anyone not love Ding Dong Merrily on High, such a joyful carol. Or Away in a Manger, ever the choice of lisping infants at the school Nativity play.

One I cannot bear to hear is The Little Drummer Boy, for its heartrending association with the evil Moors Murderers

My favourite carol is O Holy Night but favourite song is Fairytale of New York.

I'm another who likes Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar. I loved it at school in the 50's but rarely hear it sung except in the Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve.
We learnt the Latin version of O come all Ye Faithful and when I hear it I can't help thinking of the Latin words when I hear it.

Another old carol is Sleep baby sleep, from schooldays and Masters in the Hall.

Like another poster, I really like I Believe in Father Christmas by Greg Lake.
I'm not a fan of carols though.

Perry Como singing Christmas Dream. Schmaltsy but listen to the words, very appropriate at this time

‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ is my all time favourite but I like most carols, trouble is I’m going to cry in the supermarket this year more than ever!

I was pretty much an atheist from early teens but I always lived Xmas carols and it was great being in the school choir and practising for the Xmas concert . Loved all the traditional carols . Hated Little Drummer Boy !

Whitewavemark2

Greyduster

I know we don’t get much snow at Christmas these days, but I love Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride; also Delius’s Sleigh Ride, and ‘Troika’, from Prokofiev’s ‘Lieutenant Kije’.

And me☃️

Me three!!,

Greyduster

I know we don’t get much snow at Christmas these days, but I love Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride; also Delius’s Sleigh Ride, and ‘Troika’, from Prokofiev’s ‘Lieutenant Kije’.

And me☃️

Georgesgran, Chestnut, Greyduster and Jaxjacky: Yes, Three Kings from Persian Lands was a great favourite with me, too. The interplay of the melody with the contrasting four part harmony beneath was quite difficult and reminded me of some of Bach's choral compositions.

Here it is for any who are interested:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIedUioo_Jk

I know we don’t get much snow at Christmas these days, but I love Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride; also Delius’s Sleigh Ride, and ‘Troika’, from Prokofiev’s ‘Lieutenant Kije’.

I love “Oh Holy Night” too Georgesgran.
Many females have recorded it but I prefer it to be sung by male voices. My two favourites are the versions by Il Divo, male quartet and Johnny Mathis.

The good thing about not going into shops this Christmas which I’m not is I don’t hear all the tacky canned music. The Holly and the Ivy was mum’s favourite so I always think of her when I hear it.

youtu.be/7AmWu2zLzrU
My all time favourite. Gabriel’s Message sung by the choir of Kings College.

Not an obvious choice, but I love Mozart’s Three German Dances with its Christmas/ sleigh bells.

Oh Holy Night, We Three Kings, Silent Night, in fact most of the lovely old carols.

I have an old CD that plays Christmas Songs by Phill Spector. Love it, and often play it when I make the mince meat for the pies in early December.

I certainly know 'Three kings from Persian Lands afar' and I love Holy Night.

I am a real Christmas enthusiast, I do not mean the tacky commercialism and as someone whose chosen music is always classical, It is the carols, not the commercial songs I love.

I learnt German at school and the teacher was also the music teacher so we learnt a lot of our German through song - Christms carols (Es ist ein rose entsprungen, Stille nacht) as well as Schumann lieder.

Oh Holy Night, In the Bleak Midwinter and Silent Night are my favs. But loved Ding Dong Merrily on High as so cheerful.

I too like Three Kings from Persian lands afar, Little Donkey, it reminds me of when my children were small, In the Deep Midwinter and I do like Fairytale of New York. Oh, nearly forgot, A Spaceman came Travelling.

One of my favourites to sing in a choir is Going to Bethlehem. It's a 4 part carol sung acapella (without music, as all our music is sung) and it's beautiful and a carol you can really perform.

Oh Holy Night is definitely my favourite, oddly enough I prefer to hear it sung by young boys or girls, but I think that is a throughback from school. I do enjoy Fairytale of New York, for the upbeat music rather than the words.

Conversely I have a memory from the 50s, when it seemed to me that every Christmas Eve a short opera called Amahl and the Night Visitor was on TV. My memory of it was that it seemed to be filmed in the dark and was so unlike the usual cheery Christmas music that I found it very depressing. I must try to track it down and see what I feel about it now, I remember my grandparents really enjoyed it.

I like Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar, too, Georgesgran. Possibly my favourite of recent Christmasses has been Bob Chilcott’s Shepherds Carol. It’s so serene and the words are perfectly lovely. Harold Darke’s In The Bleak Midwinter, and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio for Christmas morning because it’s joyful. And you have to have a bit of John Rutter don’t you? I think it will only be the music that will keep me going this Christmas.