Happy Black Friday, to all those who celebrate!
Now that it’s Black Friday, it’s the official beginning of the month of Christmas, when we’re going to hear an inordinate number of renditions of “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “The Little Drummer Boy,” “White Christmas,” “Jingle Bells,” “Deck the Halls,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” and my personal least favorite: “Santa Baby,” about a gold digger asking her Santa-Sugar Daddy for all manner of expensive gifts. Well, I’m NOT going to annoy you with any of that!
Nope… what you’ll find over the next four weeks is songs you might never have heard before, but may well become new classics for your celebration.
So let’s get started by having a look at a very old carol.
<b>Coventry Carol</b> is about the sorrow of the mothers of the children put to death in Herod’s attempt to put-off prophecy. This song is hauntingly beautiful and has been performed by many in many different styles.
In the traditional style, with sheet music so you can follow along. By The Choirboys:
Stark, otherworldly rendition from Salt of the Sound:
Ethereal version from The Lamplighters, including a rarely-recorded verse:
Angelic solo by Ashley Serena:
A Bardcore feel to this rendition by Blackmore’s Night:
Instrumental version by Random String Quartet:
Full orchestral version arranged by Elliot Del Borgo:
Female a cappella version from ANÚNA:
One-man a cappella performance from Trudbol A Cappella:
Now we shift to an a cappella jazz version from Vox One:
Jazz instrumental version by Knox Summerour on the trumpet (This seems like the perfect piece for a noir Christmas film…):
Bluegrass version from Kentucky All-Stars:
And we’ll end with perhaps the most emotionally evocative version from Alison Moyet:
That’s it for today. More Christmas songs tomorrow! And on Sunday, the noir film is “Death of a Cyclist.”