1.   Once in Royal David's City

(8notes PREMIUM)

Once in Royal David's City

(8notes PREMIUM)

2.   Holst  -  Good Christian Men, Rejoice

Good Christian Men, Rejoice

3.   Terry  -  Myn Lyking

Myn Lyking

4.   The Holly and the Ivy (Sharp Version)

The Holly and the Ivy (Sharp Version)

5.   Sussex Carol (On Christmas Night All Christians Sing)

Sussex Carol (On Christmas Night All Christians Sing)

6.   O Little Town of Bethlehem (Forest Green Version)

The text of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" was written by Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), an Episcopal priest, Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia. He was inspired by visiting the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the poem for his church and his organist, Lewis Redner, added the music. Redner's tune, simply titled "St. Louis", is the tune used most often for this carol in the U.S. but in the British Commonwealth, and sometimes in the U.S., the English hymn tune "Forest Green" is used instead. "Forest Green" was adapted by Ralph Vaughan Williams from an English folk ballad called "The Ploughboy's Dream" which he had collected from a Mr. Garman of Forest Green, Surrey in 1903. Adapted into a hymn tune, it was first published in the English Hymnal of 1906.

O Little Town of Bethlehem (Forest Green Version)

7.   The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came (Gabriel's Messa...

The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came (Gabriel's Messa...

8.   Ding Dong Merrily on High

"Ding Dong Merrily on High" first appeared as a secular dance tune known under the title "Branle de l'Official" in Orchésographie, a dance book written by Jehan Tabourot (1519-1593). The lyrics are from English composer George Ratcliffe Woodward (1848-1934),

Ding Dong Merrily on High

9.   Berlioz  -  The Shepherds Farewell

Berlioz's "The Shepherds Farewell" started life as an organ work for his friend Joseph-Louis Duc. On turning it into a choral work in 1850 he was gratified to find that many who disliked his music praised it. This encouraged him to add further movements, the work eventually becoming part of the larger "L'enfance du Christ" ("The Childhood of Christ"). That work is often performed at Christmas, but the delightful "Shepherds Farewell" remains the most popular part of it, often extracted and performed alone.

The Shepherds Farewell

10.   Pietro Yon  -  Gesu Bambino (The Infant Jesus)

Gesu Bambino (The Infant Jesus)

11.   Angels from the Realms of Glory

Angels from the Realms of Glory

12.   The Wexford Carol

The Wexford Carol

13.   Silent Night

"Silent Night" (German: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in March 2011.

Silent Night

14.   While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night (Winchest...

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night (Winchest...

15.   I Saw Three Ships

I Saw Three Ships

16.   We Three Kings of Orient Are

We Three Kings of Orient Are

17.   O Come, All Ye Faithful

O Come, All Ye Faithful

18.   Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

"Hark the Herald Angels Sing" is a bit of a Christmas mash-up. The tune we know today was originally written by Felix Mendelssohn from his Choral Cantata 'Festgesang," but the words came from Methodist Charles Wesley almost a hundred years earlier.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing