Jingle Bells Didn’t Make This List

Jingle Bells Didn’t Make This List

I like Christmas music. I turn it on the day after Thanksgiving and it remains a large portion of what I listen to until Christmas Day. I particularly like some of the really old standards – It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas, Winter Wonderland, etc. But my favorites – well, some are a little less known. So by blogging about them, I’m hoping to make them a little more known.

1. No Sad Thought, from Vaughan Williams Hodie

A few years ago, a friend talked me into going to Marshall University’s choral union to sing (thanks, Matthew). I knew next to nothing about choral music, but could read, and sing, and I learned the rest as I went along. My second semester as a part of the group, we sang Vaughan Williams’ Hodie, which is an absolutely fantastic piece celebrating Christmas. My favorite movement was next to last, a Chorale (voices only) that’s a sort of lullaby/hymn with some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard/sung in my life. I cannot listen to it to this day without getting a lump in my throat.

I realize that most of you will have no interest in this type of music. But if you do, you must listen to it. It’s available here – the first half is the chorale, the second is the finale (if you make it that far).

2. Baby It’s Cold Outside

Quite a contrast. Back when Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey were still married, they did a Christmas variety show and sang (ok, lip synced) this song, and I wondered how on earth I’d made it to my mid-20s without hearing it. It’s funny, catchy, and slightly scandalous for a Christmas tune.

3. In the Bleak Midwinter

An absolutely beautiful poem written in the 1870s, it was later set to music. I had heard it once or twice before, but absolutely adored it when James Taylor recorded it a few years ago for his Christmas album. You can hear that version here. James Taylor’s Christmas album happens to be my favorite, so if you need something to help you feel festive this year, check it out here.

4. O Come, O Come Emmanuel

This is a haunting song that leaves me a little weak in the knees. But in a totally good way. For a bit of trivia, it’s also the melody for part of U2′s Whiter Than Snow on their new No Line on the Horizon album.

I figure tomorrow I’ll think of another song or two I left off. But I want to hear what you like. What’s your favorite Christmas tune?

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