As you might already know, I put out a synthy Christmas album a few years ago. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a joke, or at best a novelty album. What you might not have realized, if you couldn’t make it through the first song or two, is that I put the silliest stuff at the beginning to make it easier to skip. Furthermore, I’m actually quite pleased with how the last 10 songs turned out, and they’re based on songs that many people don’t know.
I first heard Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols shortly before I made that album. It’s a lovely piece of Christmas music that doesn’t sound overly like Christmas music. Which is something that I find to be a welcome relief when you keep hearing the same handful of songs over and over again every holiday season. So I’d strongly recommend giving it a listen, whether it’s my version or the original, or both.
If you start with track 13 you can hear my version here:
Or you can hear what it’s supposed to sound like, as performed by a Swedish Choral ensemble:
SUBLIME SOUND 