Just Because I Love Christmas

     Today is going to be a bit of a break from the usual, due to the delightfulness of the season. While fall is certainly my favorite season, and winter probably only comes in at third place, Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. So, in honor of this fleeting time, which really has a lasting impact on the rest of the year, I present to you a post of Christmas joy and a playlist of some of my favorite tunes this year. It was hard to select just a few songs, because there is such an abundance of Christmas music, and music is so closely tied to my memories of Christmas. Frankly, it's not Christmas at my house until the John Nilsen albums are brought out and someone mentions the dance my older sister once made up to Nilsen's version of Bring a Torch, Jeannette Isabella, or until we hear the cheesy tunes of Mitch Miller and the Gang. So, rather than post all the songs I love, I decided to go with the ones I've listened to the most this year.
     There's probably some clever way to actually have the music play, but I don't really feel like figuring that out, and I think it would really start to annoy people after a while. Instead, I've listed the title and the artist for each song so they're easy to find on iTunes. I've also posted links for some of the songs/albums because there is quite a bit of great Christmas music available for free. I really enjoy both Solid Rock Christmas albums. A couple songs, like Sing Emmanuel (an original composition by one of my friends) and the ones performed by Camerata Carolina aren't available commercially anywhere since they're performed by my friends or choirs I've sung with, but if you'd like them just let me know and I can arrange something. Enjoy!
      

Annika's Playlist for Christmas 2012  

I Wonder as I Wander -Josh White and the Solid Rock Band

The Holly and the Ivy -Wayfarer

O Holy Night -Josh Groban

What Child is This? -Sarah McLachlan

O Come, O Come Emmanuel -Josh White and the Solid Rock Band

Carol of the Bells/Sing We Now of Christmas -BarlowGirl

Ave Maria -Rachael Lampa

Dormi Jesu -Camerata Carolina

Sing Emmanuel -Julie and Lindsey 

Advent Song -Northern Conspiracy 

Midwinter -Camerata Carolina

Christmas Canon -Trans-Siberian Orchestra

All Creation Sing (Joy to the World) -Seth Condrey

White Christmas -Dogs on Tour
Baby, Please Come Home -Anberlin

Merry Christmas, Here's to Many More -Relient K

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow -Michael Bublé

Snowing in Seattle -Sherwood

Winter Night -Little & Ashley

Christmas This Year -TobyMac & Leigh Nash
Coventry Carol -Celtic Lore 

Jesu Joy -David Klinkenberg

Celtic Carol -Lindsey Stirling 
Is There a Place For Us? -Mychael Danna
Waltz of the Snowflakes -Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky 

March of the Wooden Soldiers -Steven Pasero

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence -John Nilsen (if anyone knows of a good choral recording of this, please let me know)

Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) -Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Carol of the Bells/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen -The Piano Guys

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/Slieve Russell -Dan Cleary
Road to Lisdoonvarna/Swallowtail Jig/Irish Washerwoman -Tony Elman

The Wayfarer Christmas EP (as well as his album of hymns) can be downloaded  here:

http://noisetrade.com/wayfarer 

The two Christmas albums from Solid Rock can be downloaded here: http://www.ajesuschurch.org/music/ 
Two Christmas albums from Dogs on Tour can be downloaded here:
http://www.dogsontour.org/archives/tag/music-for-winter 

The Advent Song (as well as some other great songs) can be downloaded here:

http://marshill.com/music/albums/northern-conspiracy-live 

I'm very much in favor of stealing the idea of Weihnachtsmärkte (Christmas markets) from the Germans

Update: My awesome friend Anne got me a great choral version of Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence and it is gorgeous. I also discovered the band Zerbin and they have a pretty rockin' version of O Come, O Come Emmanuel. You can get it here: http://noisetrade.com/zerbin.