A few Christmas songs for you...

I have pretty traditional tastes when it comes to Christmas carols. Here are some of my faves by one of my favorite choirs, The Cambridge Singers:

GOOD (CHRISTMAS) SONG: Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow
This is a great Christmas song that is also actually a very old spiritual that was sung by slaves. Once I realized that, the song made much more sense and was much more meaningful. The main singer would sing the verses and the other slaves would sing the refrain "Rise up, shepherd, and follow." It was a way for the slaves (who were forbidden to be educated and to learn how to read and write) to transmit the Nativity story. It's interesting, though, because according to the Gospels, it was the Magi who actually followed the star, whereas in the song, it's the shepherds. I think the slaves would have found the lowly shepherds easier to identify with and the words "Rise up" and "follow the star" would have resonated with them greatly (rising up out of the fields, following the North Star to safety, etc.). This song is AWESOME when sung by a men's choir. It is just made for it.

"The Shepherds Led by the Star Arriving in Bethlehem" by Octave Penguilly L'Haridon

GOOD (CHRISTMAS) SONG: Twas in the Moon of Wintertime
This song is also known as "The Huron Carol" and is Canada's oldest Christmas song! It was written by St. Jean de Brebeuf, a Jesuit missionary to the Huron tribe in Canada. He wrote it originally in the native Huron language, and it was then translated into English years later. It still refers to God as "Gitchi Manitou" which means God in Huron. Traditional nativity imagery is replaced by Huron imagery: Jesus being born "within a lodge of broken bark" "wrapped in a ragged robe of rabbit skin"and is adored by visiting chiefs who give him gifts of "fox and beaver pelt." I love that this great saint took the story of Christ's birth and made it accessible to the Native Americans he was working with in both language and imagery and still kept the mystery and sanctity of it clear.

"Rest on the Flight Into Egypt" by Luc Olivier Merson

GOOD (CHRISTMAS) SONG: I Wonder as I Wander
This song has an interesting story: unlike most traditional carols, which come from Germany or England or some other similar Northern European country, this song originates somewhere in Appalachian North Carolina. The composer John Jacob Niles heard a snatch of it being sing by a young girl dressed in rags, got it stuck in his head, and then elaborated upon it. I think it is lovely and haunting in its simplicity.

Hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

Over and out,
Anna