the playing of the merry organ, sweet singing of the choir
Peace to you all! As long as I still get to make fun of Canada. Peace on earth and mockery for all, I say. America's certainly not exempt.
I kind of... lost... my Chinese Christmas music folder. But I'll find it, hopefully, tomorrow. In the mean time, here are some English, Latin, French and Polish songs for Christmas.
I'm trying out a new file host service: FileHO. Let me know how it works.
ARTIST: Mediæval Bæbes
SONG: Gaudete (Rejoice!)
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Mistletoe and Wine
STYLE: female chant
MY TAKE: The Baebes are an all-female medieval music group led by Katharine Blake. "Guadete" is a 16th century Latin hymn, most likely intended to be sung on Guadete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent. Advent, if you're not Catholic/Christian, is a four week season of expectation where we look forward to commemoration of Christ's birth on Christmas. In Latin, gaudete is the plural imperative form of gaudere "to rejoice." This is a great song and a great recording of it. Listening to it is like standing in a beautiful Catholic cathedral (or, if you're in England, like standing in a beautiful cathedral stolen from the Catholics). ^_^
ARTIST: Mediæval Bæbes
SONG: In Dulce Jubilo
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Mistletoe and Wine
STYLE: chant
MY TAKE: This is the original English/Latin hymn melody that was later rewritten as "Good Christian Men Rejoice," or "Good Christians Friends Rejoice" if you want to be lame. No matter the lyrics, it's a great song for caroling. The Baebes are a little too restrained in their singing here, I think. This should be a rollicking song. Nonetheless it's very fun.
ARTIST: Mediæval Bæbes
SONG: Star of the Sea
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Mirabilis
STYLE: mediaeval
MY TAKE: This is actually... um... not a Christmas song. It's a Marian hymn, and Mary is cool so we can sing about her all year. This song is better known today as an example of Macaronic verse, a poem or song written in more than one language. The languages in this case being Middle English and Late Latin. So all those Japanese-English and Chinese-English songs with lines like "wanna know that anata no kimochi" are actually in a long tradition.
ARTIST: Mediæval Bæbes
SONG: Veni, Veni Emmanuel (O Come O Come Emmanuel)
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Mistletoe and Wine
STYLE: chant
MY TAKE: Strictly speaking this is an Advent hymn and not a Christmas carol. I love the Baebes for pronouncing Israel like normal people and not singing "Is-RYE-el." That drives me crazy.
ARTIST: Mediæval Bæbes
SONG: the Holly and the Ivy
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Mistletoe and Wine
STYLE: hymn with strings and mediaeval touches
MY TAKE: My second favorite Christmas carol, after "Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming" (below). It's a Christianization of a Pagan song. The original pagan song detailed man's (as the holly) superiority and domination over woman (as the ivy). Yep, Europe was such a nice place to live before the Christian missionaries came in there and starting oppressing everyone!
ARTIST: Anna Maria Jopek
SONG: W żłobie leży
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: [unknown]
STYLE: pop
MY TAKE: Sorry, this mp3 file is tagged correctly but the filename is incorrect. Anna Maria Jopek is a Polish singer and all I know about her I read on Wikipedia. This song is a traditional Polish Christmas carol translated as "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly." Jopek's take is simple and lovely, refraining from cheesy vocal flourishes.
ARTIST: Bruce Cockburn
SONG: Iesus Ahotonnia (the Huron Carol)
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: [unknown]
STYLE: folk
MY TAKE: Bruce Cockburn is apparently a big star in Canada, which means it's no surprise I, an American, had zero knowledge of his existance until I downloaded this song. Based on this download, I'm interested in hearing more. This song was written by St. Jean de Brébeuf, a Catholic missionary to the Huron and martyr. He's now a patron saint of Canada. The English version of this song is... painful. Painful to my ears. Thankfully, Cockburn chooses to record in the original Huron. The language is almost Russian-sounding to my ears, and the melody is lovely in a minor key.
ARTIST: Mary Hopkin
SONG: the Cherry Tree Carol
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: [unknown]
STYLE: 60s folk
MY TAKE: This recording sounds OLD. Like it's being played on your great-aunt's record player. Sixties Welsh singer Mary Hopkin's voice is uncannily similar to Dolly Parton's. This carol is a little known one. Plot in short: Mary says "Hay Joseph cherries plzkthx", Joseph gets all pissed and says "Woman let ur babydaddy get u cherries!" and then Jesus within the womb tells the cherry tree to bow down to Mary and it does and Joseph's like "O SNAP." The filename is incorrect; the singer's name is Mary Hopkin, without the 's'.
ARTIST: Catie Curtis
SONG: Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: [unknown]
STYLE: indie-folk
MY TAKE: This song appeared on the television show Grey's Anatomy. It's my very favorite Christmas carol because of the unique rhythm and pacing. Curtis has a beautiful full voice that confidently carries the song. At first I was put off by the acoustic guitar, but now I find it creative.
ARTIST: Mireille Mathieu
SONG: Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Le merveilleux petit monde de Mireille Mathieu chante Noël
STYLE: oldies
MY TAKE: Sometimes you just need to hear someone belt out "Angels We Have Heard On High." Mireille does so in the original French, back in 1968. Mathieu is a truly longlasting star, having released her 38th album in 2005.
ARTIST: Elyse O'Connor
SONG: Un Flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Alleluia 2001
STYLE: twee folk
MY TAKE: Elyse O'Connor is a indie folk artist and music teacher. Her voice is classically trained, which you will either like or not; personally I find that kind of voice a bit too "precious." And when she says "C'est bon! Oui, c'est bon!" I want to answer back "Ok, you're singing in French, we get it already!" But it has it's own charm too.
I kind of... lost... my Chinese Christmas music folder. But I'll find it, hopefully, tomorrow. In the mean time, here are some English, Latin, French and Polish songs for Christmas.
I'm trying out a new file host service: FileHO. Let me know how it works.
ARTIST: Mediæval Bæbes
SONG: Gaudete (Rejoice!)
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Mistletoe and Wine
STYLE: female chant
MY TAKE: The Baebes are an all-female medieval music group led by Katharine Blake. "Guadete" is a 16th century Latin hymn, most likely intended to be sung on Guadete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent. Advent, if you're not Catholic/Christian, is a four week season of expectation where we look forward to commemoration of Christ's birth on Christmas. In Latin, gaudete is the plural imperative form of gaudere "to rejoice." This is a great song and a great recording of it. Listening to it is like standing in a beautiful Catholic cathedral (or, if you're in England, like standing in a beautiful cathedral stolen from the Catholics). ^_^
ARTIST: Mediæval Bæbes
SONG: In Dulce Jubilo
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Mistletoe and Wine
STYLE: chant
MY TAKE: This is the original English/Latin hymn melody that was later rewritten as "Good Christian Men Rejoice," or "Good Christians Friends Rejoice" if you want to be lame. No matter the lyrics, it's a great song for caroling. The Baebes are a little too restrained in their singing here, I think. This should be a rollicking song. Nonetheless it's very fun.
ARTIST: Mediæval Bæbes
SONG: Star of the Sea
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Mirabilis
STYLE: mediaeval
MY TAKE: This is actually... um... not a Christmas song. It's a Marian hymn, and Mary is cool so we can sing about her all year. This song is better known today as an example of Macaronic verse, a poem or song written in more than one language. The languages in this case being Middle English and Late Latin. So all those Japanese-English and Chinese-English songs with lines like "wanna know that anata no kimochi" are actually in a long tradition.
ARTIST: Mediæval Bæbes
SONG: Veni, Veni Emmanuel (O Come O Come Emmanuel)
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Mistletoe and Wine
STYLE: chant
MY TAKE: Strictly speaking this is an Advent hymn and not a Christmas carol. I love the Baebes for pronouncing Israel like normal people and not singing "Is-RYE-el." That drives me crazy.
ARTIST: Mediæval Bæbes
SONG: the Holly and the Ivy
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Mistletoe and Wine
STYLE: hymn with strings and mediaeval touches
MY TAKE: My second favorite Christmas carol, after "Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming" (below). It's a Christianization of a Pagan song. The original pagan song detailed man's (as the holly) superiority and domination over woman (as the ivy). Yep, Europe was such a nice place to live before the Christian missionaries came in there and starting oppressing everyone!
ARTIST: Anna Maria Jopek
SONG: W żłobie leży
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: [unknown]
STYLE: pop
MY TAKE: Sorry, this mp3 file is tagged correctly but the filename is incorrect. Anna Maria Jopek is a Polish singer and all I know about her I read on Wikipedia. This song is a traditional Polish Christmas carol translated as "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly." Jopek's take is simple and lovely, refraining from cheesy vocal flourishes.
ARTIST: Bruce Cockburn
SONG: Iesus Ahotonnia (the Huron Carol)
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: [unknown]
STYLE: folk
MY TAKE: Bruce Cockburn is apparently a big star in Canada, which means it's no surprise I, an American, had zero knowledge of his existance until I downloaded this song. Based on this download, I'm interested in hearing more. This song was written by St. Jean de Brébeuf, a Catholic missionary to the Huron and martyr. He's now a patron saint of Canada. The English version of this song is... painful. Painful to my ears. Thankfully, Cockburn chooses to record in the original Huron. The language is almost Russian-sounding to my ears, and the melody is lovely in a minor key.
ARTIST: Mary Hopkin
SONG: the Cherry Tree Carol
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: [unknown]
STYLE: 60s folk
MY TAKE: This recording sounds OLD. Like it's being played on your great-aunt's record player. Sixties Welsh singer Mary Hopkin's voice is uncannily similar to Dolly Parton's. This carol is a little known one. Plot in short: Mary says "Hay Joseph cherries plzkthx", Joseph gets all pissed and says "Woman let ur babydaddy get u cherries!" and then Jesus within the womb tells the cherry tree to bow down to Mary and it does and Joseph's like "O SNAP." The filename is incorrect; the singer's name is Mary Hopkin, without the 's'.
ARTIST: Catie Curtis
SONG: Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: [unknown]
STYLE: indie-folk
MY TAKE: This song appeared on the television show Grey's Anatomy. It's my very favorite Christmas carol because of the unique rhythm and pacing. Curtis has a beautiful full voice that confidently carries the song. At first I was put off by the acoustic guitar, but now I find it creative.
ARTIST: Mireille Mathieu
SONG: Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Le merveilleux petit monde de Mireille Mathieu chante Noël
STYLE: oldies
MY TAKE: Sometimes you just need to hear someone belt out "Angels We Have Heard On High." Mireille does so in the original French, back in 1968. Mathieu is a truly longlasting star, having released her 38th album in 2005.
ARTIST: Elyse O'Connor
SONG: Un Flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle
Downloads: SendSpace YouSendIt FileHO
ALBUM: Alleluia 2001
STYLE: twee folk
MY TAKE: Elyse O'Connor is a indie folk artist and music teacher. Her voice is classically trained, which you will either like or not; personally I find that kind of voice a bit too "precious." And when she says "C'est bon! Oui, c'est bon!" I want to answer back "Ok, you're singing in French, we get it already!" But it has it's own charm too.