What is your favourite Carol?

[antelopevalley]

I love Hark the Herald Angels sing. Very rousing and uplifting.
You?

I have just listened to Coventry Carol, I had never heard of it before. Very beautiful.

@Adultchildofelderlyparents Gosh yes that is a lovely version! I still feel my total favorite though was my sister's school friends, who were all in the choir, singing it very simply with no accompaniment on a cold December night outside our front door. It was just so pure and from the heart.

Not strictly a carol in itself, but I love this arrangement of 'The First Noel'

Brilliant 😂

We Three Kings
Always makes me and my sis exchange smiles as we remember the exaggerated oooo-ooooohs we used to do at primary school and then we'd rock out to 'star of wonder'.
We still do actually.

But I also love O Little Town of Bethlehem for more sensible reasons, it fills me with peace.

Silent Night

Oh Holy Night closely followed by Once in Royal David's City sung by King's College Choir - the purity of the young chorister's voice is always spine tingling.

Oh Holy Night

Oh Holy Night!
Also, O come, O come Emmanuel. Both bring a tear to my eye.
Also love Little Drummer Boy - so simple and beautiful.

In the Bleak Midwinter, but it has to be ok the Darke arrangement. I get goosebumps at the last verse.

I also really like Tomorrow will be my Dancing Day, arranged by David Willcocks.

Carol of the Bells - it's so manic I love it

Mine too, especially when sung by a full on choir. Mendelssohn never wrote a bad tune.

O Holy Night
Mary did you know?

O little town of Bethlehem.

O come O come Emmanuel

I know it’s an advent carol rather than a true Christmas carol but I love it. It’s my favourite at our school carol concert each year. When someone has sung it then I’m in the mood for Christmas.

This is my current favourite.

Oh holy night has to be sung by a choir. If it's done by a single singer it just sounds cheesy.

I love carol of the bells too.

Love that bit in Home Alone that has both!

What a lovey thread, and it displays the range of musical experience on MN.

I just melt at Britten's Hymn to the Virgin.

Another vote here for O Holy Night.

My favourite rendition of it is in Nativity 2 by Jessica Hynes whilst Joanne Page is giving birth.

I like 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'

The Charterhouse Carol is my favourite

Cradled in a manger, meanly. Can't believe no-one else has mentioned it! It was my Granny's favourite too.

I like ones like Hark the Herald Angel's sing but I also like Little Jesus Sweetly Sleep. My favourite as a child was in the bleak midwinter.

And I don't know if these count as actual carols but if they do I think my favourites are Mary did you know? and Joseph's song.

This may be contentious. I love a carol concert and try and watch carols from kings every year but always turn it off as it's too formal (amazing singing etc) but really I just want a bit of an easy singalong to songs I know well.

Carol of the Bells followed closely by Silent Night which, if done properly, is haunting.

Also like Gaudette.