‘Tis The Season

Those who know me well know that I’m not a religious person, nor really much of a Christmas person. But there are a couple of Christmas carols that have always been favorites of mine. That they are favorites have little to do with the season or the reason or the lyric. It’s all about the music — the melodies and counter melodies and harmonies stir something in my soul. Those two songs are Carol of the Bells and The Wexford Carol.

Here, then, are some versions of each in my usual YouTube playlists. Each leads off with recordings that are new to me (the version of Carol of the Bells was just released today), followed by the versions I grew up with (an updated version of John Williams’ recording of Carol of the Bells and Julie Andrews’ recording of The Wexford Carol). Those are followed by other recordings that I’ve found over the years.