O Holy Night - Kiri Te Kanawa

 O Holy Night has never been one of my favorite carols.  The reason is simple.  Most singers do not simply sing the song. Many spend the four minutes of music doing vocal gymnastics and not even coming close to the melody.  That annoys me and once they start doing that, I turn it off.  This song is absolutely gorgeous, and it does not need embellishments. The words, if you take the time to listen to them, are very poignant and meaningful.  But if you can't even hear the lyrics because the vocalist is scaling three octaves in two beats, it defeats the purpose of the song.  Here is Dame Kiri Te Kanawa with the St. Paul's Cathedral Choir in 1997.  Enjoy!

O Come, O Come Emmanuel - Amy Grant

 I often forget what a beautiful Christmas carol this is.  Amy Grant does a beautiful rendition of this on her Hallmark Christmas album. I was listening to this album last night and this song really stuck out to me like it has not before.  It is simple and beautiful and, in some ways, haunting, to me.  I hope you enjoy it.

The 12 Days of Christmas - Dinah Shore

 This is from another album I listened to growing up.  It is another of the Great Songs of Christmas put out by Goodyear. I actually was pretty obsessed with this version of the song and listened to it all the time.  Mom even let me take the record to kindergarten for show and tell!  Now that we're into the 12 days of Christmas, I think this is very fitting.  Enjoy!

The Happiest Christmas - Petula Clark

 One of the Christmas albums I grew up listening to was Great Songs of Christmas Album 9 put out by Goodyear in 1969.  So, Mom would have bought this for their 2nd Christmas as a married couple.  Bill gifted me a copy of the album for Christmas this year. In addition to Petula Clark, the album has songs by Bing Crosby, Joan Sutherland, Richard Kiley and Lena Horne among others. It's a wonderful and fun album and the first track is this little-known Christmas gem performed by Petula Clark.  Enjoy!

How Far Is It To Bethlehem - The Tabernacle Choir

 I first heard this carol years ago when the women's choir at FBC Monroe sang it.  Mom brought home a copy of the sheet music to practice, and we would sit at the piano and play and sing this sweet carol. Here is a lovely arrangement sung by the Tabernacle Choir.  I hope you enjoy it!

Caroling, Caroling - Nat King Cole

 Nat King Cole had so many wonderful Christmas songs that he recorded.  This 1954 gem is no different.  It is in my top 5 Nat King Cole Christmas songs!   I hope you enjoy it!

Silent Night - Megan Mullally

 I have posted this version of Silent Night before, but it's been several years, and I wanted to revisit this Christmas season. I first heard this on an NBC Celebrity Christmas CD that was put out in 2000.  It's got some good tracks on it but for me, this one stands above all the rest.  Megan did a lot of theater before landing the role of Karen Walker on Will & Grace, so most people don't know what an amazing singer she is.  I hope you enjoy her beautiful rendition of Silent Night.