We're all feeling festive here, since the Christmas lights got turned on and they are the *best* christmas lights I've ever seen! soooooo pretty! So what's your favourite christmassy song?

Mine's Hark the Herald

Jingle bells in G minor in a ska style!!!!!!!!

The Christmas lights are on in Birmingham too. I couldn't supress the urge to shout "But it's november!"

Hark the Herald,
Winter Wonderland,
Silent Night,
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Il est ne (sorry for the lack of accent on the e)

I love 'It came upon a Midnight clear'. It hardly seems to be sung at all nowadays, but it was always part of the Christmas Carol service held by my primary school, and it takes me right back to being about 6 years old.

I like traditional carols much better than those Christmas songs which seem to be more common now. Although I'm not religious in the slightest, I find many carols really moving, especially when sung by children's choirs... *goes off all misty-eyed*.....

The Holly and the Ivy
Mistletoe and wine
Silent Night
O Little Town of Bethlehem

practicing for a christmas church concert is great for making you feel christmasy

(still trying to find sheet music to Mistletoe and wine, local shops haven't got it )

At the other extreme, Away in a manger sung badly by a class full of out-of-tune infants is enough to make me ill!

Christmas is about the only time our organist will let me loose on descant parts, so over the last few years my favourite has tended to be O Come all ye Faithful. That said, the Carols for Choirs 1 descant for Hark the Herald is an absolute killer! And no matter how cliched, the solo boy treble singing the first verse of Once in Royal David's City at the Carols from Kings sends shivers down my spine (even if, as happened a few years ago, verse one was solo, verse two was unaccompanied choir, and when the organ came in at the start of verse three, the pitch had dropped noticeably in the previous two verses).

Helen - agreed about Christmas starting earlier each year. My birthday is in December, and it irritates me beyond belief that if I go out for a meal for my birthday, the options available inevitably include roast turkey and all the trimmings. Given that restaurants have been taking bookings for Christmas since August bank holiday weekend though...

Cute Christmas story: My sister's nephew (who's 3) is Joseph in his nursery school Nativity play. They had a rehearsal last week, and he burst into tears; between the sobs he said "But I want to be the donkey <sob> and Jack's already the donkey <sob>". Aaaaah!

I like the Sussex Carol, Angels From The Realms of Glory, O Come, especially the Willcox version, and Once in Royal David's City.

Yes - I think Once in Royal is hard to beat - especially with David Willcocks' descant in Carols for choirs bk 2, which is sublime.

Of the Father's love begotten is another good one.

Department stores are a nightmare this time of year - some of what they think passes for decent Christmas music makes me feel ill.

Even better: Woolworths the other day playing the jinglebell rock. IT'S NOVEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL... that reminds me of my first ever Nativity play when I was 5... I played the "Star Of Bethlehem", and I played "Away In A Manger" on my sixteenth size violin (aka vile-din): I can remember it like it was yesterday! I had a white sparkly dress and a tinsel halo and awww it was so cool, I wish I could still be in a nativity play!!!

Big up for the Sussex Carol

I'm quite partial to "See amid the winter's snow"..
I'm also very fond of "The truth from above" (RVW)

If I may widen it out a bit, give the Hely-Hutchinson Carol Symphony a try (the old EMI recording is probably still in the catalogue and there is a newish Naxos version with some excellent fillers) -- the third movement based on "The First Nowell" with tinkling harp and lush strings just gives me tingles !!

No one's stopping you

In the deep mid winter!!

The Coventry Carol.
Silent night if done in three-part harmony with our kids. (Kids on soprano, me a growly alto, husband bass)
Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen, especially when all the candles on the Christmas tree are lit.
Mum's Vienna boys choir record - all of it.

Snuglivixen, you will find Mistletoe and Wine in a book called A Jazzy Christmas, published by Wise Publications. The whole book is lovely, my favourite for this time of the year.

bleak?

Me too. I love the message of peace in this carol "Oh hush the noise ye men of strife and hear the angels sing"....if only.....

Seconded!! WOO!

John Gardner's (I think!) setting of My Dancing Day

Shall we put on a forums Nativity play?

I had to do that descant on my own a couple of years ago!!

Sorry about the huge text, something's up so it wouldn't let me make it bold!

Ohhh...we could have it in the cafe in the week before Christmas. Mince pies all round.

Yeah!

Oh... and speaking of Christmas, we had a girl in french hyper, because she realised that on friday it's a month until Christmas. Apparently she has been doing a countdown since September. All I could reply was: "Oh. Dear. "

I did that! (It's 87 days from my birthday till Christmas.....)

In the bleak midwinter!!
And RUDOLPH!! (although i dont think that counts as a carol)

My favourite has to be In Dulci Jubilo; the problem is I'm torn between the slightly-more-recent tune and the Prætorius version .

Other than that, See Amid the Winter's Snow is nice too .

I'll second In Dulci Jubilo. I also like the Holst versions of In the bleak midwinter and Personent Hodie, Britten's This little Babe and Michael Rose's Now the most High is born.

Heehee It's 101 from mine...

Hark the Herald, Once in Royal, From Heav'n You came, The Woodcutter's Prayer and Merry Christmas Everybody!! But only in December.

Yes! Incredible how many accompanists just don't "get" the basic rhythm of this piece!

My birthday is 10 days after christmas. So, christmas is 355 days after my birthday.

I don't really have a favourite christmas carol. I don't mind hearing them during December- as long as shop don't play them in October....

all the above plus gabriels message.

one in royal davids city
o come all ye faithful
on christmas night
cant think of anymore right now

The Christmas Song
Let It Snow

Oh yes

I've never EVER been in a Nativity play (my primary school didn't have them)
Can I be a lamb or a star?

I love "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "In The Bleak Mid-winter"

NM :-)

NEVER?? Well, my nativity plays were actually in the junior church! My school liked to put on things like "Wartime Christmas" (year 6), Carol services (years 4 and 5), "Christmas at the beach" (year 2 - trust me- swimming costumes in december were no laughing matter).

Since you have never been in one, let's make you an extra special part! Not just any old angel, but the Angel Gabriel! (ok in the play, we all wanted to be the Angel Gabriel because the costume had sparkly bits on it ).

is it Gabriel's message i'm thinking of? "the angel gabriel from heaven came..." probly
love that anyway.

I quite like our orchestra version of winter wonderland too

In The Bleak Midwinter is cool, and I love Amici Forever's performance of O Come All Ye Faithful (or Adeste Fidelis) from their first album.
But my favourite carol would have to be Coventry Carol, and favourite "popular" christmas song would of course have to be Fairytale of New York with that guy who can't sing to save his life

What is 'The Woodcutter's Prayer', SuzyMac??

I do know something of that name but it's from a children's Christmas cantata/play - don't know if it's the same one.

Mmmm - I agree with so many suggestions already put forward! Guess my favourites would be 'It Came Upon the Midnight Clear' and 'See, Amid the Winter Snow' - I also love the Willcocks a cappella three-voice arrangement of 'Away in a Manger'. Ooh, yes, 'Gabriel's Message', 'The Coventry Carol' - ah, and the Gardner 'Holly and the Ivy'.

There is also a lovely Normandy tune for 'Away in a Manger' which is in the Phrygian mode - haunting and beautiful. Has anyone else ever come across this??

Yes, Cyrilla. I like the Gardner Holly and the Ivy too! Is this it? s dddd dm d s sltrd?? I also like The Nativity Carol, and Candlelight Carol (both Rutter) and the Stable Carol - Meakins!

I love Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, and Gaudete

I've got a much loved copy of Carols For Choirs which I nicked from school 12 years ago and I love getting my friends together to sing from it at Christmas

If it's the one on the right-hand page at the beginning of Carols for Choirs, yes. Cyrilla's right, it's beautiful.

My birthday is 17 days before Christmas. That's December 8th. Yes, the EIGHTH of DECEMBER. <hopes people take the hint and buy her loads of lovely presents>

As for worst ever festive songs, it has to be "I wish it could be Christmas every day", closely followed by "Merry Christmas Everyone". The mere thought of the song makes me cringe, let alone the actual concept of it being Christmas every day. Mind you, with the weather as cold as it is at present, it does seem to be always winter and never Christmas.

Mine is Silent Night and Joy to the World.

I love 'Do you hear what I hear?' Not a carol as such, but a wonderful song. And I love carols sung by adult choirs. Children's choirs make me misty-eyed for a different reason, so I don't like them. Bah Humbug.

I like the Sussex Carol - am playing it for a youth choir next week but unfortunately I'm on the piano so I can't do the pedal G - have to keep bashing it with my left hand and jumping back up again!!
(Gosh I sound professional!! )

I'm surprised not to find a reference yet to Rutter's "Shepherd's Pipe" carol. I'm not mad keen on his larger works, and his small pieces are all rather similar, but this was the first and is still one of the best. His accompaniment is particularly good, on either piano or organ.

As well as good tunes by Holst and Harold Darke, "In the bleak midwinter" has very good poetry from Christina Rossetti.

I agree on the Rutter in so far I enjoy his rhythmically interesting carols (Shepherds Pipe Carol, Star Carol, Jesus Child etc.) but loath the 100% schmaltz that is the Candelight Carol, Angels Carol etc. etc.

As for "In the bleak midwinter"... whose idea was it to sanitise Rossetti's original "a breast full of milk" in the third stanza to "a heart full of mirth" ???

Aw, well done with the solfa, noodle - I thought it wasn't right at first then I realised that what you've written is the introduction, rather than the first phrase of the song itself!

The Normandy 'Away in a Manger' is best sung unaccompanied and in one of the 'Sing for Pleasure' books has a lovely, simple second part to verses 1 and 3 (the second verse is sung in canon).

Re the Rutter schmaltz - if you can't indulge in that at Christmas, when can you???

For anyone who runs a children's choir and wants their audience to go misty-eyed for all the right reasons (sorry, chocolatedog!) then Alfred Choral Publishing do a vast range of American slushiness. Totally yukky and totally irresistable...

Hey, Deborah, you share your birthday with my sis (Bagpuss)!

*feels a forums joint birthday party coming on*

Thanks Cyrilla! Was the first bit right? S - D? I wasn't sure whether it should have been S - D' otherwise how do you know whether to go up from S - D or down?? Hmmmm. noodle is puzzled and confuzzled!
*needs to attend some of Cyrilla's classes!*