The Christmas Edition

It's the best time of the year- everything about December. Two years ago, I spent a year in Sri Lanka with my cousins and that Christmas was one of my most memorable.

Living with these two other musical people meant that we filled up the month with things like symphony orchestra concerts, church choir musicals and many many hours singing along to Christmas music at home. Between us, our favourites cover quite a variety of genres from classical, opera, indie and alternative.

For some extra love this season, they're sharing four selections for you all this week. Merry Christmas! :)

From Andre - 

Since it is Christmas, I'm choosing two Christmassy songs. They are not quite traditional because I am tired of hearing the same tunes over and over again. 

O Come, O Come Emmanuel : Citizen Shade

This song is my favourite Christmas song now. I love the minimalism of the piano playing, the way he varied the tune to make it a counter point to the lyrics. I also love the earthy quality of his voice and the amazing range he displays. 

Mvmt 1 Rejoice Rejoice : The Oh Hellos

I love this song by The Oh Hellos because it is so unconventional. I like how they have arranged it with a focus on harmony, and acoustics. It invokes a slightly colder and darker feeling than the original songs but that just places more emphasis on the lyrics and the vocals.

From Cheryl- 

Carol of the Bells : The Bird and the Bee
I love covers of songs, especially when it has a twist to it, and this version has twists everywhere! Slightly creepy and yet still magical, this quirky cover is one of my favourite versions of this old familiar Christmas carol. 

O Magnum Mysterium : Nordic Chamber Choir

This piece of music has long been one of my favourites but I only found out this year that its Latin text is about the birth of Jesus! Though I don't care much for the translation, I love the music because of its light peaceful comforting feeling. I've listened to this at times when I've needed comfort or when I've needed to be led back to God. My favourite part of the music is at 4:38 which is the point where there are 8 different parts spanning 3 1/2 octaves from D2 to G5.