# What are the best classic, religious Christmas songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 7, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100 "2008-12-07T05:43:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sanders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sanders)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/1 "2008-12-07T05:43:35Z")
Inspired by [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=495478), and my own growing weariness for the Christmas carols that I’ve been hearing over and over in the stores, I’m wondering if anybody can recommend some classic religious Christmas songs? Stuff along the lines of Silent Night and Angels We Have Heard On High, but in any language. I’ve got a suspicion there’s all sorts of great traditional Christmas music that I’ve never heard on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/2 "2008-12-07T06:22:05Z")
“God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen” “Oh Holy Night” “The Little Drummer Boy” ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/3 "2008-12-07T06:25:02Z")
Argh, turn the radio off already. There’s tons of great Christmas music, but none of it is on the radio. Hm, some great carols in any language. Some of my favorites (I like religious and traditional carols, but almost nothing from after 1900): Coventry carol Wexford carol The holly and the ivy Good people all Green groweth the holly In the bleak mid-winter Lo, how a rose e’er blooming (German?) Det kimer nu til julefest Veni, veni Emmanuel In dulci jubilo Gaudete, Christus est natus Pedida de la Posada The famous Messiah choruses I’ll go find you something nice on youtube. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/4 "2008-12-07T06:35:41Z")
“Oh Holy Night.” ---
**Author:** ![Sanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sanders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sanders)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/5 "2008-12-07T06:35:49Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > Argh, turn the radio off already. There’s tons of great Christmas music, but none of it is on the radio. That’s what I’m trying to do! 🙂 > [@](#): > > Coventry carol > Wexford carol > The holly and the ivy > Good people all > Green groweth the holly > In the bleak mid-winter > Lo, how a rose e’er blooming (German?) > Det kimer nu til julefest > Veni, veni Emmanuel > In dulci jubilo > Gaudete, Christus est natus > Pedida de la Posada > The famous Messiah choruses I’ve never heard of any of these – thanks! ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/6 "2008-12-07T06:45:48Z")
[In the bleak mid-winter](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWLVnsAbPoI), sung by Sarah McLachlan, who does it best. Don’t watch the goofy video, just listen. [The Coventry Carol](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpexSPr5M9A), sung by Loreena McKennitt [The Wexford Carol](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXkgqpVVpTg), sung by some lady in a dress [Gaudete](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHchRtVZGug) by a boy’s choir, a little overdone [Det kimer nu til julefest](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2VNSx7AIyQ) on Norwegian TV [The holly and the ivy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT-6yjT4oFo&feature=related), by a boy’s choir. My very favorite carol. [For unto us a child is born](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQVQOW1c0DQ), from Handel’s Messiah. One of the greatest pieces of music ever written in English, so don’t miss it. [In dulci jubilo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXze_TLUTqM) (Bach), by a choir. I like the Anonymous 4 a lot too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/7 "2008-12-07T06:46:52Z")
> [@Sanders](#): > > I’ve never heard of any of these – thanks! Seriously? Oh, you poor deprived thing, you’ve been starved! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/8 "2008-12-07T07:09:13Z")
[“What Child is This.”](http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/w/h/whatcist.htm) Make sure you get a rendition with all the lyrics, rather than one that repeats “This, this is Christ the King…” as a refrain for each verse. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/9 "2008-12-07T07:14:38Z")
["There’s a Song in the Air."](http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/s/tsongair.htm)Not heard enough anywhere, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/10 "2008-12-07T09:56:05Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > Lo, how a rose e’er blooming (German?) That’s [Es Ist Ein Ros](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkl0ivDthzY). Gorgeous carol. Also… [Sussex carol](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKSM4kmpX9s) [I heard the bells on Christmas day](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kymb24kclXQ) - more different tunes than I can count, but I love it for the lyrics I adore “O come o come Emmanuel” too ( but I can barely listen to modern versions which put in extra beats all the time to make it up to a regular 4/4 tempo - It’s a plainsong chant! It’s meant to just go straight through! [/pet peeve]) ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/11 "2008-12-07T10:52:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen” I have to quibble here. If a comma is used at all, it should be “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”. “Rest ye merry” means “keep you happy”. Now to answer the original question: [Christmas Vespers at Westminster Cathedral](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=43:145681). Ah, midnight mass! ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/12 "2008-12-07T12:37:37Z")
I’ve recently become fond of [Once in Royal David’s City](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U4rcll9oUU) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/13 "2008-12-07T13:20:56Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > I’ve recently become fond of [Once in Royal David’s City](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U4rcll9oUU) Roger that. It’s very much in the spirit of “receiving the Kingdom of God as a little child”. 🙂 I like “[It Came Upon The Midnight Clear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Came_Upon_the_Midnight_Clear)”; being English, I’m used to the Sullivan setting, _Noel_. Also like “[O Little Town of Bethlehem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Little_Town_of_Bethlehem)”, usually to _Forest Green_ although I have sung and like the Walford Davies. “[See Amid The Winter’s Snow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_Amid_The_Winter%27s_Snow)” For “In the Bleak Midwinter” I’m a big fan of the Harold Darke setting. But for me it ain’t Christmas until I’ve heard “[The Shepherds’ Farewell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27enfance_du_Christ)”. (But that’s partly because as a bass and a showoff I like cranking out the low Es.) ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/14 "2008-12-07T13:46:47Z")
I really like [Good King Wenceslas](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41rmb_dhqmM) - great music, and a nice story. The only Christmas song featuring magical footprints! ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/15 "2008-12-07T14:45:34Z")
[The Peace Carol](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP5MwVdu3c0) is a newcomer compared to others on this thread - it’s perhaps 40 years old - and so perhaps shouldn’t be called _classical,_ but it’s religious, beautiful, and not at all overplayed. In fact the only version I could find on YouTube is John Denver and the Muppets! I like the unusual structure and the lyrics, simple enough that the listener must find the meaning. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/16 "2008-12-07T15:22:09Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > I have to quibble here. If a comma is used at all, it should be “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”. “Rest ye merry” means “keep you happy”. Thank you. I’m tired of pointing this out to people. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/17 "2008-12-07T23:36:14Z")
Pick up the Robert Shaw Christmas CDs “Songs of Angels” and “Angels on High”. Chorus, unaccompanied. I’ve been listening to these and the earliest RS Christmas recordings from the 1950s and 60s for decades. They’re the peak of my Christmas listening–I play them only on Christmas day. The carols are sung mostly traditional with moderate arrangements. There are also a few lesser-know carols, such as the “Carol of the Birds” This may not be exactly what you were looking for, but I highly recommend this Joan Sutherland CD [http://www.amazon.com/Joy-to-the-World/dp/B0002JZ298/ref=pd\_bbs\_sr\_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1228692361&sr=8-1](http://www.amazon.com/Joy-to-the-World/dp/B0002JZ298/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1228692361&sr=8-1). The best tracks are “What Child Is This”, “12 Days of Christmas”. But it’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/18 "2008-12-08T00:23:36Z")
Off the beaten track - J. S. Bach - The Christmas Oratorio Hector Berlioz - The Childhood of Christ (the source of the above-mentioned ‘Shepherd’s Farewell’) Benjamin Britten - A Ceremony of Carols John Joubert - Torches, which was how Christmas Carol services began when I was a kid. The choir would start at the back and come through the church and up into the choir loft. An arresting opening. On editing - I wonder as I wander is a traditional Appalachian carol that I remember fondly from my childhood. Our alto soloist would sing it a capella. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/19 "2008-12-08T00:32:12Z")
My favorites are “O Holy Night,” “Still, Still, Still,” “For Unto Us a Child is Born,” and the “Coventry Carol.” This is the Cambridge Singers and they are wonderful: “[Coventry Carol](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1khUv74ETHs),” “[For Unto Us a Child is Born](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfQddqu3G7M).” I highly recommend them. Here is the Vienna Boys Choir doing “[Still, Still, Still](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC1GfEXjaBU).” And my favorite “[O Holy Night](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CiVVB3TrJE)” I’ve ever heard: Placido Domingo. Warning: The Handel WILL stick in your head, and you’ll be attempting to sing multiple parts and it will drive you crazy. “Unto us a child is bo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-orn!” ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100/20 "2008-12-08T00:35:48Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > [For unto us a child is born](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQVQOW1c0DQ), from Handel’s Messiah. One of the greatest pieces of music ever written in English, so don’t miss it. I didn’t see this before I commented. At least we linked to different versions. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-classic-religious-christmas-songs/476100.md?page=2)