awanderingbard (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
awanderingbard) wrote2007-12-16 12:58 am
awanderingbard) wrote2007-12-16 12:58 am
Entry tags:
Music Spam
I love Christmas music. I know lots of people get sick of it and whatever, but I just love it. I love singing along to it, I love the big carols with full choirs, I love it. I'm always happy when December rolls around and I can put on my CDs. In that vein (vain?), I thought I'd share some of my favourite songs, and my favourite versions of them.
In the Bleak Midwinter (performed by Sarah McLachlan)
One of my mum's favourite carols and one I only heard for the first time last year, since you don't hear it as often as some of the other carols. I like the quiet, simple way it's performed and Sarah has such a haunting voice that suits it so nicely.
Mary's Boy Child/ Oh My Lord(performed by Boney M)
I think this song (Mary's Boy Child) is purely sentimental. When I was little, my family would always go to my mum's friend's house on Christmas Eve. She has a son and daughter who are the same age as brother and I. It was a fairly long car ride there and we'd always put on our Boney M christmas album as we drove, with a big blanket keeping Adam and I warm in the back seat, and everyone would sing. I've never heard another rendition of this song that sounded 'right' since then.
Do You Hear What I Hear? (Performed by Martina McBride)
This was the song I wanted to sing for my first voice recital, but my teacher insisted it was too low for me. In any case, I love the theatrical feel to it, a story that builds with each verse and the gentle bum-bum-bum of the melody.
The First Noel (performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir)
What I actually ended up singing for my first voice recital. My favourite Christmas carol. Again, I like the fact that it tells a story that continues with each verse and it has my favourite descant in it (which I performed perfectly, after hours of practice and much worrying ;-)). A song that really needs a choir to sound 'right'. The recording's kind of quiet, so you may have to crank your volume a bit.
O Holy Night (Minuit Chretiens) (performed by Charlotte Church)
My mum's favourite carol, this one makes her cry when it's performed well. A song that everyone seems to want to 'pop' up, but a song that really shouldn't be popped up. I have a version in the original French, but the r's are rolled rather annoyingly in it. Charlotte hits that last wonderful note perfectly.
Little Drummer Boy (performed by Josh Groban)
I love the 'pa-rum-pa-pum-pum' parts to it and, again, the fact that it's a story. Josh's version has a wicked celtic feel to it that I love.
Petit Papa Noel (perfomed by Josh Groban)
I used to have a version with Celine Dion and the Chipmunks (seriously), but I seem to have lost it. An adorable little song, not often heard. I love the chorus: "My dear Santa Claus/ when you come down from the sky/ with your thousands of toys/ don't forget my little shoe/ but before you leave / you must cover yourself up warmly/ outside, you will be very cold/ and that's sort of my fault." I don't have a better version than this, and I find Josh makes it sound too dramatic, but you can get the general gist of it.
When a Child is Born (perfomed by several people)
A song I always feel doesn't necessarily have to be Christmas one. I like this one for its simplicity and the pretty lyrics. This one is performed by Sissel, Charles Aznavour, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.
In the Bleak Midwinter (performed by Sarah McLachlan)
One of my mum's favourite carols and one I only heard for the first time last year, since you don't hear it as often as some of the other carols. I like the quiet, simple way it's performed and Sarah has such a haunting voice that suits it so nicely.
Mary's Boy Child/ Oh My Lord(performed by Boney M)
I think this song (Mary's Boy Child) is purely sentimental. When I was little, my family would always go to my mum's friend's house on Christmas Eve. She has a son and daughter who are the same age as brother and I. It was a fairly long car ride there and we'd always put on our Boney M christmas album as we drove, with a big blanket keeping Adam and I warm in the back seat, and everyone would sing. I've never heard another rendition of this song that sounded 'right' since then.
Do You Hear What I Hear? (Performed by Martina McBride)
This was the song I wanted to sing for my first voice recital, but my teacher insisted it was too low for me. In any case, I love the theatrical feel to it, a story that builds with each verse and the gentle bum-bum-bum of the melody.
The First Noel (performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir)
What I actually ended up singing for my first voice recital. My favourite Christmas carol. Again, I like the fact that it tells a story that continues with each verse and it has my favourite descant in it (which I performed perfectly, after hours of practice and much worrying ;-)). A song that really needs a choir to sound 'right'. The recording's kind of quiet, so you may have to crank your volume a bit.
O Holy Night (Minuit Chretiens) (performed by Charlotte Church)
My mum's favourite carol, this one makes her cry when it's performed well. A song that everyone seems to want to 'pop' up, but a song that really shouldn't be popped up. I have a version in the original French, but the r's are rolled rather annoyingly in it. Charlotte hits that last wonderful note perfectly.
Little Drummer Boy (performed by Josh Groban)
I love the 'pa-rum-pa-pum-pum' parts to it and, again, the fact that it's a story. Josh's version has a wicked celtic feel to it that I love.
Petit Papa Noel (perfomed by Josh Groban)
I used to have a version with Celine Dion and the Chipmunks (seriously), but I seem to have lost it. An adorable little song, not often heard. I love the chorus: "My dear Santa Claus/ when you come down from the sky/ with your thousands of toys/ don't forget my little shoe/ but before you leave / you must cover yourself up warmly/ outside, you will be very cold/ and that's sort of my fault." I don't have a better version than this, and I find Josh makes it sound too dramatic, but you can get the general gist of it.
When a Child is Born (perfomed by several people)
A song I always feel doesn't necessarily have to be Christmas one. I like this one for its simplicity and the pretty lyrics. This one is performed by Sissel, Charles Aznavour, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.