Christmas Music

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This post is more blatantly self-serving than most. Please humor me. I love Christmas music. I love it year round, though this year I haven’t really been listening to it much. I must rectify this horrible oversight. Growing up, I was forbidden to listen to Christmas music anywhere besides quietly in my room until after Thanksgiving (American Thanksgiving, not Canadian Thanksgiving). As far as I was concerned, this was a tragic limitation of great music, and as soon as I moved out, I listened year round.

So now we come to my request: I need more Christmas music.

I have about 50 Christmas music CDs, but as I was ripping them last night to load onto my iPod (my precioussss…), I realized that only half of them are really worth listening to. So, my fellow blog writers and readers, what would you suggest I acquire to improve my collection?

Since it’s only fair to offer some suggestions in trade, let me suggest the following:

Christmas with Charles Osgood, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir – I happen to like all of the MoTab Christmas CDs, though all of the others are your basic, traditional songs. This CD is a bit different, and it’s really, really good. It begins with “An American Christmas”, which is a little (30 minute) musical journey through the history of Christmas in American with spoken word and song. This is followed by some more non-traditional music and spoken word. I particularly adore “Magnificat”.

Christmas Songs, Anuna – This group sounds like a gentle, angelic choir. I find it very beautiful. (Note: Amazon doesn’t seem to have clips you can listen to, but if you have iTunes installed on your computer, you can listen to clips there.)

Christmas Eve And Other Stories, Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Most likely you’re already familiar with this group and either hate them or love them. Put me in the “love them”. I love the energetic electronic-rock interpretation of the music.

53 thoughts on “Christmas Music”

  2. Noel by Joan Baez
    Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano (or ElVez ha!)
    Motown Christmas Album

  3. Does anyone have a favorite version of The Messiah? I have the MoTab version which I like ok, but am looking for something with a narrower tone (not the heavy duty vibrato) and a slightly faster tempo.

  4. Eric, I’ve heard the first song on that CD before (“Hallelujah It’s Christmas”) and never knew who sang it. I’ve always liked that song. I’ll check out the other songs on that CD now, too. Thank you for the suggestion!

    meems, I like Joan Baez and will check out that CD and the others. Thanks for the suggestions!

    Mimi, I’m afraid the only version I have is the MoTab version. I hope someone has a good one they can recommend.

  6. The best Christmas CD is Amy Grant’s Christmas….it’s cheesy in some places, but oh so wonderful. And of course no Christmas Cd collection is complete without Manheim Steamroller. It is THE soundtrack of Christmas for me.

  7. I really like Chanticleer’s Christmas cd, Sing We Christmas. I listen to parts of it year-round, mostly tracks 4 &7.

    Also, I confess to listening a lot to MoTab’s Noel and This is Christmas cd’s, but I had them on my mission.

    My freshman guitar prof has a Christmas duet cd that I like a lot, but I think you can only get it in Utah. He was pretty amazing. Lightwood Duo

    Also, I like George Winston’s Winter/Christmas cd, December.

    I grew up listening to a Christmas record by the King’s Singers (“Christmas with The King’s Singers”) that never appeared on CD, and of course, Mom had thrown the record away years ago. I finally found a copy on Ebay and ripped it onto my computer. If you’re coming to Neal’s wedding, bring a blank cd and I can copy it for you.

  8. John, that has a different sound, and I think I like it. Thanks!

    Katie, I’ve got all the Manheim Steamroller Christmas CDs, and I join you in loving them. I’ve heard some of the songs from Amy Grant’s Christmas CD, but I’ve never bought it. I do like a lot of those songs, though, so maybe I will. Thanks!

  10. Ben, I saw you mention the Chanticleer CD on another blog the other day, went to listen to some samples, and bought it immediately. Sounds just right up my alley. I’ve got a couple other George Winston CDs, but I’ve never bought December. I’ll check it out. Thanks for the suggestions! [And I believe I’ll be coming to Hugh’s wedding, so I’ll bring a blank CD :-)]

  12. Sorry to hog the thread, but see this list for some very good options (if you like Baroque and traditional German Christmas concerti/songs).

  14. Christmas is not Christmas without Johny Mathis and Bing Crosby. Mathis has the best rendition of Winter Wonderland and Bing’s White Christmas and The Christmas Song just make me ooze with nostalgia.

  15. Katie — (talking Bing Crosby…) My favorite Xmas CD has to be “Christmas with the Rat Pack.” Sinatra, Martin, and Davis Jr. sound soooooooo good with Xmas songs (and regular music too).

  17. John, I have that Kurt Bestor CD (as well as his other ones) and love it. Have you ever been to any of his Christmas concerts? They’re wonderful.

  18. All-time favorite: Carptenter’s Christmas Portrait.

    Another one that is fun, but hard to find is Singers Unlimited Christmas.

  20. Nope, never seen him in concert. Although I’ve been listening to an Airus Christmas for close to ten years now, I never even knew it was Kurt Bestor until a few hours ago when I looked for a link for this thread. I just had it on a cassette tape given to me by a mission companion, with the hand-written label “airus christmas”. Good stuff nonetheless.

  21. Tanya, count me in the “It’s too early for Christmas music” camp. Ask me after Thanksgiving.

  22. I have three favorites, if they’re not on your list already, and they are:

    1. Maybe This Christmas
    2. Maybe This Christmas Too
    3. Maybe This Christmas Tree

    They’re compilations of modern artists either doing their own rendition of a Christmas classic, or doing an original Christmas tune. Very good!

    Here’s a link to the Amazon page

  23. Someone asked about the best Messiah. Academy of Ancient Music, conducted by Christopher Hogwood.

    Here are some other Christmas gems:

    We Three Kings, by The Roches. All female vocal group.

    David Lanz, Christmas Eve

    Michael Allen Harrison, Enchanted Christmas

    Tom Grant, Have yourself a Merry…

    Kurt Bestor’s solo piano Christmas CD

    Some of my favorite “fun” Christmas songs are:

    Mary’s Boy Child, by Boney M.

    Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, by Bruce Spingsteen

    Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant

    The Marvellous Toy, by Peter, Paul, and Mary

    And the #1 all-time greatest Christmas song: Silent Night by Mannheim Steamroller. I’ve seen them twice in concert doing their Christmas music, absolutley amazing.

  24. Oops, forgot two songs:

    Santa Baby, by Eartha Kitt

    Christmas is Coming by the incomparable Miss Piggy

  25. Larry, Speaking of the Roches, have you heard their version of the Hallelujah Chorus? It is amazing. The best ever!!!!!!!!! Acapella, beautiful arrangement.

  27. Does anyone have a favorite version of The Messiah? I have the MoTab version which I like ok, but am looking for something with a narrower tone (not the heavy duty vibrato) and a slightly faster tempo.

    I think that the version by Christopher Hogwood with the Academy of Ancient Music might be just what you are yearning for.

    Amazon.com notes:
    This is the Messiah that started it all–the first period instrument performance recorded with a choir of men and boys. It introduced music lovers the world over to Christopher Hogwood, Emma Kirkby, and a whole host of performers who have since become ubiquitous as the “English Early Music Mafia,” appearing as they do under zillions of different ensemble names on a variety of labels. Hogwood’s performance still holds its own, however, as one of the finest and freshest available. A first-rate effort. –David Hurwitz

  28. I want to second what Heather said regarding John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers Christmas Night: Carols of the Nativity. It is my all-time favorite Christmas recording as well. This is choral music in the British church tradition, with that lovely boy’s choir purity except performed by adult men and women. Whereas the Tab Choir has that big American chorus sound, the Cambridge Singers have the small, intimate, church sound, frequently performed a capella.

    John Rutter has recorded a number of Christmas albums, some no longer in print. Christmas Night is still the best, and certainly the place to start. I also recommend The John Rutter Christmas Album, which focuses almost entirely on carols John Rutter has composed. http://www.collegiumusa.com/collegium/3_cs_510.html

    This is some of the most beautiful music you will ever hear.

  30. The response to my request is wonderful! Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions! I will be looking into every single song and album you’ve recommended.

  31. I second Tanya’s thanks (Tanya, any relation to the Spackmans of Tualatin, Oregon?). Once can never have enough Christmas music.

  32. Mimi: Does anyone have a favorite version of The Messiah?

    Larry Beck and MahNahvu recommend Hogwood’s Academy of Ancient Music, and with good reason. Period instrumentation is definitely the way to go on this one. The smaller orchestral groups give this piece a natural balance, grandeur, and intensity–the approach of modern style orchestras ends up sounding affected and overdone by comparison (this is, I think, what is wrong with the MoTab version.

    That said, Hogwood’s never suited my taste. In my opinion: Martin Pearlman’s 1992 Boston Baroque Orchestra version (released by Telarc) is the recording to own. For anyone interested in the modern type recording that I disparage in my first paragraph, the Chicago Symphony Choir seldom disappoints.

    If one really wants to to sound pretentious about Christmas music, the only piece to recommend is Arnold Schoenberg’s Weihnachtsmusik.

    That said, you can’t really have a Christmas music selection without Elvis. His version of “Here Comes Santa Clause” is top notch. If you want something more serious, he does a mean “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” is pretty upbeat for something so politically subversive. Judy Garland does a surprisingly melancholy “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and it really works well. If you like your Christmas music straight up, Nat King Cole’s “Hark! the Harold Angels Sing” can’t be beat. The only version of “Frosty the Snowman” worth listening to (IMHO) is Jimmy Durante’s. Bing Crosby’s “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” is cool and laid back enough to actually overcome the saccharin, singsongy-ness of the piece.

    Of course, no Christmas collection is complete with out “The Chipmunk Song.”

    But everyone needs the audio of Linus reading from Luke chapter 2, answering Charlie Brown’s question “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

  33. Mimi: I’ve never particularly cared for the MoTab’s “Messiah” recordings; too heavy, and too 19th-century for my taste. Considering that Händel wrote the piece for a small orchestra and choir, the recording that I really like is by John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir (played on period instruments with the vocal ornamentation restored even in the choruses) Philips 434 297-2.

    I have several Christmas albums by Chanticleer: “Sing We Christmas”, “Christmas with Chanticleer (and Dawn Upshaw), and “Magnificat”. Really fine high-quality singing.

    I also have several Christmas albums by the Canadian Brass that I really like to listen to.

    And I can’t leave out “I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas” by Yogi Yorgesson!

  34. The John Eliot Gardiner set, that Hans recommended, came out shortly after the Hogwood version. I think it is similar to the Hogwood recording, but with greater warmth, so it might appeal even more to those steeped only in Mo’ Tab bombast.

    Thanks for the Pearlman recommendation, DKL, I will have to check it out.

  35. Larry, yes indeed, I am related to those Spackmans. They would be my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Good people.

  36. DKL, I totally agree that listening to Linus read from Luke 2 is something everyone should hear. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is probably my favorite Christmas show. It’s perfect. I love to watch it a couple times each year.

  40. DKL, # 32,

    When it comes to Elvis and Christmas, we mustn’t overlook his classic Blue Christmas.

  41. Tanya,

    Just had a rehearsal for our Stake Christmas concert with your relative as the conductor (and stake music chairperson) last night. She is a delight to work with, and a pretty fair musician to boot!

    Sorry for getting off thread, but I’m a newbie and don’t know how to take this conversation into email.

  42. I agree with those who have recommended the Academy of Ancient Music version of Messiah. I grew up on the MTC version, but I’m a convert to the AAM version. But it may be hard to find the full three disk set; these days, I only see the two disk selections version at stores.

    I too love Christmas music. One to add to your list is The Chieftains, “The Bells of Dublin.”

  43. Not sure if anyone shared
    Kenny G’s holiday album is cool
    Terrante & Feitcher (sp?) is neat too
    and OF COURSE, the carpenters.

  44. Thanks, DKL. You’re exactly right about Linus.

    On a less serious note, I pull out my recording of Bob and Doug McKenzie singing The Twelve Days of Christmas every year (“Five golden toques!”).

    Also, Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” is a pretty bad song, but I really like it for some reason.

  45. We tend to get the Christmas music going early because either my wife or I end up getting asked to lead choirs.

    I’m glad someone mentioned John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers. Far too many favorites to choose from: I really enjoy “Shepherd’s Pipe Carol” if I’m in an upbeat mood, and my favorite more-contemplative number is Rutter’s “Wexford Carol.” “Donkey Carol” is fun if your choir is up to the challenge of singing in 5/4 time.

    Let me also second the Chanticleer fans. Keep your eyes out of their PBS Christmas Special as it tends to get run often this time of year. It’s also available on DVD. I love their “Rise up, Shepherd, and Follow!” Their rendition of Biebl’s “Ave Maria” is one of those ear worms that get stuck in your head and never leave, but totally worth it!

    The worst part: Chanticleer came in concert to a venue about 25 miles from here last month and I didn’t hear about it in time. I totally missed it!

  46. #44, are you a hoser, eh? Take off!

    I’m walking out to the mailbox, laughing my head off thinking about their version of The 12 Days, and my neighbors are wondering if I forogt my medication this morning 🙂

  47. I heartily recommend “Dr. Demento’s The Greatest Christmas Novelty CD of All Time”. Among the many selections are:

    The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)
    All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth (Spike Jones & His City Slickers)
    Jingle Bells (The Singing Dogs)
    Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
    I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas (Yogi Yorgesson)
    The Twelve Days of Christmas (Bob & Doug McKenzie)
    Santa Claus and His Old Lady (Cheech & Chong)
    Christmas at Ground Zero (Weird Al Yankovic)

  48. I second s’mee’s vote #38 for Joy to the World by Jewel. She has such a great voice, and she rarely uses it effectively.

    Wyndham Hill put out several Christmas albums, including a Celtic one, that make great background music.

    And Trisha Yearwood’s The Sweetest Gift is wonderful.

  51. Christmas is beautiful, and Christmas music helps elicit strong, peaceful feelings for me.

    My fondest memories of Christmas are of the FP’s Christmas Devotional. Nothing compares to MoTab singing Christmas Hymns.

  53. I’m just now getting into the Christmas spirit, and am looking forward to listening to some of these great suggestions for Christmas music. Thanks!

    Here are a few of my own favorites:
    ‘Zat You, Santa Claus?, by Louis Armstrong and the Commanders
    It Won’t Cool Off, by Dean Martin
    Santa Claus is Coming to Town, by Johnny Mercer
    And all the traditional carols sung by the Cambridge Singers (I love their rendition of Personent hodie).

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