Top 10 Classical Christmas Songs

More commonly called "Carols" , classical Christmas songs have a long history as hymns of praise. Many are old enough to come from a time when not everyone could read. Thus the carols were also a way to proclaim the Good News of Jesus' birth and tell the familiar tale of the baby in a manger surrounded by shepherds and heralded by angels.

There are so many carols from which to choose. I like them all for different reasons. Lo How a Rose, is my favorite one to sing in parts. I always think of it as an English hymn. However, it was originally written in German in the 15th century and not translated into English until the 19th. The tune is Es ist ein Ros from 1599. The soprano carries the melody. The bass holds the bottom while both tenor and alto have very decorative moving parts. It is especially beautiful when sung a cappella. This hymn speaks of Jesus as the flower, fulfilling Old Testament prophesy, springing from the root of his ancestor Jesse.

Next on my list of Christmas Carols is It came upon a midnight clear. It draws a picture in word and music of the heavenly angel choir touching their "harps of gold" as they bend "near the earth" to announce the birth while the "world in solemn stillness lay."

Then along with the host of angels is a host of other carols about them: The First Noel, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and my all time favorite Angels We Have Heard On High. Whenever I have any say in the choosing of Christmas Carols for midnight service (and that is most years) I always want this to be the last carol as we process out of church. Whenever possible it is also wonderful to have extra musicians to add trumpets or other brass fanfare to the chorus Gloria in excelsis Deo. Sometimes I do think God speaks Latin.
Likewise what Christmas eve service would be traditional without the opening hymn of invitation, O Come All Ye Faithful. This hymn dates back to the 1700s and was written by John Francis Wade. It is often sung in it's Latin original form Adeste Fideles.

No ones list of favorite classical Christmas songs could be complete without Away In A Manger. It is probably the first Carol every child learns and therefore one of the dearest to each adult. It is about as popular as Rock a bye Baby.

However, everyone's favorite, originally written for guitar and often sung kneeling by candlelight is of course Silent Night.

(Authors and composers can be found in any denominational hymnal. I used the 1980 Episcopal hymnal.)