Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree

Christmas, other than being a time of blessed thanksgiving and remembrance for some and a commercialized gift-exchanging festival for others, has almost always been synonymous with a musical period.

As anyone who has ever stepped into a mall near the Christmas period would know, Christmas carols and hymns constitute a big part of the festive spirit (although one would wonder if playing the music ad nauseum a la any Singaporean mall actually helps). As a Christian, these hymns and carols hold an even bigger, religious, significance for me and I’ve loved to sing along to the songs since I was young.

So, in keeping with the Christmas mood and its spirit of sharing, I would like to share my three favourite Christmas songs, along with some online videos of renditions I love.

#3 – Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=v3XAlDj3e3g&feature=related

John Lennon of the Beatles fame wrote this with his wife, Yoko Ono, in 1971 as an anti war anthem. Nonetheless, it has become quite a Christmas standard thanks to its festive, uplifting melody, optimistic lyrics and inspirational vocals, garnering cover versions by a large number of singers including the Corrs, Delta Goodrem, Maroon 5 as well as the contestants from the second season of Britain’s Pop Idol (which was where I first heard the song).

#2 – What Child Is This
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hcGQqzvRqhI

Written in the late 1800s, I’ve always been mystified by the haunting melody and poignant lyrics of this song. The song has a slightly Scottish (Irish?) lilt to it and conjures up imageries of Biblical times. This version by Third Day, one of my favourite bands, is one of the best-arranged, most contemporary sounding versions that I’ve heard.

#1 – O Holy Night
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cZ-8jYpa1-o
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UHE4X7HFmTM

A beautiful and very popular hymn during this time of the year, O Holy Night is another 19th century hymn that, like the song above, speaks about the birth of Jesus Christ and has enchanted the world with a simple yet incredibly beautiful melody and a spirit-lifting, climatic chorus that is much harder to sing than it sounds. This song, one of the most famous of the Christmas carols, has been covered more times than anybody can keep track of and I’ve included two versions here. The first is from a group of angel-voiced songstresses and the second is from a similarly (and disconcertingly) angel-voiced dude.

So, those are my three favourite Christmas songs. What are yours?