More Holiday Music - Top Sacred Songs

In the penultimate installment of my romp through holiday music, here are my favorite sacred Christmas songs. In other words, these actually reference the religious basis of the holiday, the birth of Christ. My reasons for choosing them, however, are usually musical rather than textual. I don't often focus on lyrics, even when I'm singing these songs in church. I'm usually listening to the harmonies and the bass line. Anyway, here are my top 13:

13. O Come, O Come Emmanuel - The lyrics actually date back to the 9th century!

12. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen - One of the first carols I ever arranged in a jazz version, when I wrote it for my wife's jazz combo at Lake Forest Country Day School

11. O Little Town of Bethlehem - A gentle carol with a sinuous melody--perfect for a late night Christmas Eve service

10. The First Nowell - One of the great old English carols, complete with the old-fashioned, non-French spelling of "Nowell"

9. In the Bleak Midwinter - This one was written by English composer Gustav Holst--we played it in SB and WE as part of our Holst unit--really cool modal harmonies

8. We Three Kings - Sounds great as a modal jazz waltz a la John Coltrane and My Favorite Things

7. Ding Dong Merrily on High - In high school, I sang in a choir that did a bunch of old English carols like this one every December - my favorite line: "and e-o-e-o-e-o!"

6. Do You Hear What I Hear - My parents had a version by Bing Crosby on one of their Christmas records, and I always thought this one sounded so haunting. It must be the mixolydian mode they used in the arrangement.

5. The Little Drummer Boy - Pa-rum-pa-pum-pum, indeed! There was a stop-motion animation version of this that was done by the same people who did the Rudolph TV show. It's a shame it was never as popular.

4. Coventry Carol - Another one of those spooky songs from high school choir. It starts with the lyrics "Lully, lullay..." I never did figure out what that meant...

3. Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming - This dates back to the 1500s, by Michael Praetorius. I love the Renaissance sound to this one.

2. Angels We Have Heard on High - The polyphonic "gloria" section makes as spirited refrain as any.

1. Joy to the World - This one, by Handel, sounds like a vocal fanfare, complete with antiphonal call and response between treble and bass at the end.

So there you have it, my top Christmas songs for the season. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, and to everyone, enjoy the time with family and friends!

NEXT UP: My killer Kwanzaa playlist!