Res ipsa loquitur

fox - Top five Christmas carols

Advent yesterday, Christmas today.

Of the regular, familiar carols, O Come, All Ye Faithful (Chanticleer) is my favorite. I've told here before the very fond memory of going on a Christmas shopping excursion with my friend and her cousin, and we started singing this in the car, split immediately into harmony, went through all the verses, and then with no discussion went off all together into Latin.

Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes / Angels We Have Heard On High (Bruce Cockburn) -- the dancing version

Brightest and Best / Shepherd's Star (Jean Ritchie, rather tremulously) -- I have so many versions of this, but this is the first recording of it I ever heard, on Thistle & Shamrock sometime in the '80s. I love the gentle scolding about the futility of bringing rich gifts.

Exultation (the Revels) -- Just remember what I said about music that sounds like it was made by a nostril.

The Holly and the Ivy (Kate Rusby)




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torch asks, "favorite advent songs!"

My current favorite Advent hymn is "Comfort, Comfort Ye My People." I have two recordings of it, and I'm not 100% satisfied with either of them.

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People by Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church Choir is an anthem like you'd hear from a very good church choir. It changes the rhythm in places, which bugs me.

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People by the Choirs of the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta is more of a production, with winds and percussion.

I would love just a straightforward, minimally fancied-up version of the hymn, if anyone would like to share.

Savior of the Nations, Come by the Valparaiso University Chorale

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus by the Scottish Festival Singers

People, Look East by the Mount Holyoke College Glee Club --- when was the last time you heard a female glee club? I really like this.

Maria Walks Amid the Thorn by the Benedictines of Mary is a pregnant-Mary song with the lovely pagan touch of a long-dormant tree bursting into flower.

Prepare the Way, O Zion/Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus by the Miserable Offenders (!) is an interesting combination of two hymns with entirely different tempos.

Come, Love, Caroling by Shusha is another pregnant-Mary hymn that I particularly like, though I'm not 100% happy with this performance. But I love the text. "All the while, wherever I may be, I carry the maker of the world in me."

Seeking Christmas music: In addition to the version of "Comfort, Comfort Ye My People" mentioned above, I'm also looking for a version of "What Child Is This" that has Dix's different text with each chorus ("Nails, spears shall pierce him through," etc.), instead of always defaulting to "This, this is Christ the king."



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