O Holy Night Arr John Rutter

[Cherish Asleson]

ChristBe Our Light

This uplifting Advent carol was a relatively recent addition to the canon of Christmas music, written by Roman Catholic composer Bernadette Farrell in the early 1990s. It describes the waiting for Christmas as a journey through darkness towards light.

Words and music: Bernadette Farrell

Do You Hear What I Hear?

This Christmas song tells the story of the Annunciation (the announcement by the angel Gabriel that Mary would conceive a son) to the shepherds with charming simplicity. It was written in 1962 by a husband and wife as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Words: Nol Regney Music: Gloria Shayne

Gabriel's Message (The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came)

Another carol about the Annunciation, but told in a more traditional way. The tune is from the 13th or 14th century - hundreds of years older than the words, which were adapted from a Basque carol with some poetic additions.

Words: Sabine Baring-Gould after a Basque Carol Tune: Angelus Ad Virginem

Gaudete

This Medieval carol found new fame when a recording by British Folk Rock group Steeleye Span in 1973 reached no. 14 in the U.K. singles chart. The carol follows a common Medieval structure, with verses of regular length followed by a two-line refrain.

Words and Music: Unknown, 16th century

Go Tell It On The Mountain

This African American Spiritual song has been around anecdotally since the 1860s, but was written down by the composer and scholar John Wesley Work Jr. in 1907.

Music and Word: Unknown, compiled by John Wesley Work Jr.

It Came Upon The Midnight Clear

An American carol with a British tune. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear was written a decade before the American civil war by Unitarian minister Edmund Hamilton Sears. Although a tune was written a year later by Richard Storrs Willis to accompany it, the melody which has become famous in Europe was written by Arthur Sullivan - of Gilbert and Sullivan fame!

Words: Edmund Sears Tune: Noel by Arthur Sullivan or Carol by Richard Storrs Willis

Jesus Christ The Apple Tree

This folk hymn compares Jesus to the tree of life from the Garden of Eden. The simple rhyme scheme of the text and the soaring melody are a welcome addition to any carol service. The text has been set by various composers including Jeremiah Ingalls, Elizabeth Poston and John Rutter.

Words: Attributed to Rev. Richard Hutchins Tune: various inc. Jeremiah Ingalls, Elizabeth Poston and John Rutter

Joy to the World

The words for this well-known American carol are adapted from Psalm 98 and sections of the book of Genesis. By the end of the 20th century it was the most published carol in North America. There have been several tunes associated with the words over time, but the most famous is generally attributed to GF Handel; in fact you can hear very similar fragments of this melody in Messiah!

Words: Isaac Watts Tune: Antioch by GF Handel

Like A Candle Flame

This Christmas song was written by worship leader Graham Kendrick in 1988. The striking central image describes the potential of the Christ child as a candle flame reflected in his infant eyes.

Words and Music: Graham Kendrick

Mary, Did You Know

This reflective Christmas song describes an imaginary conversation between the singer and the Virgin Mary. It humanises the Christmas story, and marvels at the immense responsibility placed on the shoulders of the holy family. It was originally released by Michael English in 1991.

Words: Mark Lowry Music: Buddy Greene

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Although the tune of this regal advent carol is thought to be very old, its origins are unknown. The text is the final O Antiphon which is traditionally sung on the 23rd December; the final day of advent in Western Christian traditions.

Words: Latin translation by John Mason Neale Tune: Veni Emmanuel , Anon., 15th c.

O Holy Night

Originally written with French words by Adolphe Adam in 1847, O Holy Night has become a timeless favourite covered by countless contemporary artists including Mariah Carey. Adam was actually an opera composer, and he wrote this lilting melody to be sung in his local church to celebrate the renovation of their organ.

Words: French poem, Minuit Chrtiens translated by Jonathan Sullivan Dwight Tune: Cantique De Nol by Adolphe Adam.

O Little Town Of Bethlehem

The minister Philip Brooks wrote this carol after a visit to Bethlehem in 1865. He asked their church organist to compose the melody. The carol has since become of the most-performed Christmas songs the world over. The carol is actually sung to a different tune in the United Kingdom, by the iconic British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Words: Phillip Brooks Tune: St. Louis by Lewis Redner and Forest Green by Ralph Vaughan Williams

The Calypso Carol (See him lying on a bed of straw)

A contemporary carol written by British composer and clergyman Michael Perry in the 1960s. Lyrics from the carol have appeared on postage stamps from the Carribean islands Nevis and St. Kitts. This lively and energetic carol first shot to fame in 1969.

Words and Music: Michael Perry

Unto Us Is Born A Son

This march-like tune is hundreds of years old, and was used in Medieval liturgy. The melody is devotional and uplifting, with a much more complex melody than was common at the time.

Words: Latin Puer Nobis Nascitur trans. George Ratcliffe Woodward Tune: Anonymous 15th century

We Three Kings

We Three Kings is an American carol, written for a Christmas Pageant in New York City in 1857. The text tells of the gifts given to the Christ Child by the Magi and is adapted from the Gospel of Matthew. It is often sung at Epiphany.

Words and Music: John Henry Hopkins Jr.

3a8082e126