Silver Bells by Jay Livingston (1915-2001) “Silver Bells” is a classic Christmas song, composed by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. The lyric is unusual for a Christmas song in that it describes the festival in the city and not a rural setting. Silver Bells was first performed by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell in the …
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear by Edmund Sears (1810-1876) “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” is a poem and Christmas carol written by Edmund Sears, pastor of the Unitarian Church in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Sears’ lyrics are most commonly set to one of two melodies: “Carol,” composed by Richard Storrs Willis, or “Noel,” adapted from …
O Christmas Tree by Ernst Gebhard Anschütz (1780-1861) “O Tannenbaum”, or, in its English version, “O Christmas Tree”, is a Christmas carol of German origin. A Tannenbaum is a fir tree (German: die Tanne) or Christmas tree (der Weihnachtsbaum). Its evergreen qualities have long inspired musicians to write several “Tannenbaum” songs in German. The best …
We Three Kings by William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898) “We Three Kings”, also known as “We Three Kings of Orient Are” or “The Quest of the Magi”, is a Christmas carol written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote both the lyrics and the music. It is suggested to have been written in 1857 …
What Child is This by William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898) “What Child Is This?” is a popular Christmas carol written in 1865. At the age of twenty-nine, English writer William Chatterton Dix was struck with a sudden near-fatal illness and confined to bedrest for several months, during which he went into a deep depression. Yet out …
The First Noel by Anonymous The First Nowell (also written The First Noël) is a traditional classical English carol, most likely from the 18th century, although possibly earlier. The word Noel comes from the French word Noël meaning “Birthday”, from the Latin word natalis “birthday”.
Deck The Halls by Anonymous “Deck the Halls” (original English title: “Deck the Hall”) is a traditional Yuletide and New Years’ carol. The “fa-la-la” refrains were probably originally played on the harp. The tune is Welsh dating back to the sixteenth century, and belongs to a winter carol, Nos Galan. In the eighteenth century Mozart …
We Wish You A Merry Christmas by Anonymous “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” is a popular secular sixteenth-century English carol from the West Country of England. The origin of this Christmas carol lies in the English tradition where wealthy people of the community gave Christmas treats to the carolers on Christmas Eve such as …
We Wish You A Merry Christmas by Anonymous (Guitar Tab) Read More »
Silent Night by Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863) Franz Xaver Gruber was an Austrian primary school teacher and church organist in the village of Arnsdorf. At the same time he was organist and choirmaster at St Nicholas Church in the neighboring village of Oberndorf bei Salzburg and then in later years moved on to Hallein, Salzburg.
O Come All Ye Faithful by John Francis Wade (1711-1786) John Francis Wade was an English hymnist. He is credited with writing and composing the hymn Adeste Fideles (also known as O Come All Ye Faithful).
