My mom's side of the family was very musically oriented, and it was through her encouragement that I gravitated towards choirs as far back as I can remember.And when you're in a choir, you tackle Christmas music.
As such, I've had the pleasure of coming across a few lesser known Christmas carols, or otherwise seasonally themed music that I feel deserves at least as much attention as that damned Mariah Carey song. So in the interest of spreading some joy around, here are twelve of my favorite songs that usually get omitted from Christmas albums.
1. Gesu Bambino
Okay, this one isn't exactly obscure, but unless you travel in church choir circles you may not have had the pleasure of this beautiful piece. It's essentially the 'Let it Go' of Christmas music for soloists; you can over-sing it easily, but if you hit all the right beats it's quite powerful (and I particularly love the 3/4 time sampling of 'O Come All Ye Faithful'). Check out the link above to hear the Heidi Joy (Now that's what I call a singer's name) rendition.
Here's another beautiful piece that also samples a more popular carol; 'What Child is This' in 4/4 time. Some of the best Christmas carols are the ones which musically acknowledge the sad side of the Christ story, and this one really hits that sweet spot. This was about the best version of it I can find online but I think it's worth a listen.
Oh man. You want to hear a song that just sounds sad? This is it. One of the more overlooked compositions from the 1970 movie Scrooge, 'Christmas Children' has all the lyrics of the joy of the season. But the music! Dear God, that minor key. It's perfect for the Cratchits who have been in such a desperate situation for so long now that they may not even be aware of it anymore. Bob is singing about unattainable fantasies in a haunting innocence.
4. A Soalin
Well as long as we're in poverty we may as well hit this one. Okay, if you're familiar with folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary then you know this one, but if not then go listen to it right now. Do it! Santa's watching! As Paul Stookey explained in at least one of their concerts, the children in England would go house to house during the yuletide season caroling for anything to help them get through the harsh winter; a ritual we kind of transformed in this country as trick-or-treating.
I'm specifically referring to the John Rutter adaptation. Arranging a piece of pre-existing music is an under-appreciated art form, but this is a skill that John Rutter excels at. There are a plethora of wassail-centric carols, but none sound quite as cool as this a cappella number. It just makes me want to get some friends together and rehearse the hell out of this song before taking it to the mall parking lot.
In a way, Christmas music is similar to the Western; the concept has been done so many ways that it's almost impossible to find an approach to it that doesn't feel cliched. But once in a while you stumble across the 'Calypso Carol'. This one is fun. It's bouncy and it will NEVER leave your head. Click on the link at your own risk.
These next three are songs you probably at least know by title, but they tend to go unnoticed. 'Masters in this Hall' is very Renaissance in flavor. I'm not the most fluent speaker of music theory, but I find the intricacies fascinating; and that octave jump on the chorus is the stuff of legend. When you're in a choir and this song is part of your set list, you beg the director to let you rehearse this one first while your voice is still up for it.
8. Pat-a-pan
I've tried to steer away from trendy performances in these examples, but in this case the Mannheim Steamroller just did it the best. When performed by choir, 'Pat-a-pan' feels like the lesser known but arguably more talented brother of 'The Little Drummer Boy'. It's not a complicated song, but Christmas music tends to be strengthened by its simplicity.
I'm admittedly biased on this one. Musically and lyrically, this carol is about the weight of winter that feels undefeatable, but that small bit of resolve to keep pushing through it. It's also the only duet my mother and I sang together for a congregation. She was the one who chose the song and she asked me to perform it with her. I thank God my inner prima donna didn't pipe up with a request for some sort of "better" carol. Merry Christmas mom.
10. In December
I know it's not a very Christmas thing to say, but f**k Chuck E. Cheese. They destroyed the vastly superior competition of ShowBiz Pizza with the Rock-afire Explosion and the only animatronics I've ever voluntarily tried to get close to (except for the gorilla). Their earliest Christmas shows produced this gem which you can hear by skipping to 5:35. I don't know where the song came from and I haven't had any luck tracking information about it down. It's innocently hopeful and maybe just a little sad. But it's probably the most beautiful song to come from a bear with a guitar.
11. Sing We Noel
Courtesy of The Kingston Trio, as a child I just couldn't get enough of this song. Oddly enough, I didn't realize until this moment how similar the verses sound to 'Masters in this Hall', but it's a styling and it's a good one. Among the wonderful things about Christmas is the way different cultures have just naturally gravitated into the playlist. I could be wrong, but this song sounds Ukraine to me. (Nope, I was wrong. It's French). Hey, wanna here an awesome Celtic sounding version?
12. The Jesus Gift
I'm so glad I managed to find every one of these on Youtube in at least some form of quality. Dinah, my friend in high school, had this solo, and it instantly became the prettiest song of the a cappella choir's concert. 'The Jesus Gift' is the perfect lullaby, celebrating the gift of love over the unimportant trinkets of monetary value. As an added bonus, it's the most inappropriate song to play while handing around the collection plate.
So that's my B-side Christmas concert. Hopefully in some small way this blog will encourage professional singers to replace that NON-Christmas song 'My Favorite Things' with something a little more...not...non-Christmas. And just for the record, if anyone has a few extra hundred thousand dollars that they'd like to throw into producing an album, I have a pretty depressingly flexible schedule. I know all the words already.
Wassail everyone!
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