Love them or hate them, it’s hard to imagine Christmas without carols.
From reverential hymns to popular tunes, these songs represent many things for many people.
Some people annually attend beautiful Christmas carol services or concerts. Others prefer to blast Rocking Around The Christmas Tree while putting up their decorations.
These songs are bound up in old and new memories and traditions.
Even if carols aren't your thing, they're almost impossible to avoid. They’re played in shopping centres, on the radio, backyard barbecues and virtually any public places you can think of.
But what are these songs, where do they come from and what do they say about us?
Is it a Christmas carol or a Christmas song?
Some people say Christmas carols, others just call the music that appears around this time Christmas songs. Is this a case of pot-ay-to vs pot-ah-to?
The answer is yes, to an extent.
In classical music, Christmas carols are songs with many verses sung to the same tune.
These carols can be religious or secular, and some do feature beautiful harmonies that differ from verse to verse.
Next time you hear Oh Come All Ye Faithful, listen out for the soaring sopranos singing in harmony above the choir. That harmony is called descant.
In recent times, musicians have been writing Christmas songs which aren't based on the carol format.
Instead, these songs follow the standard song-writing format: verses, choruses and sometimes a bridge.
In a nutshell, Silent Night is a carol and White Christmas is a song.
Why do so many Christmas carols talk about food?
One Christmas tradition looms large in Christmas music: food and drink.
This is unsurprising as for most people, Christmas is a time to gather with loved ones and celebrate over a meal.
This musical tradition goes back a long way.
You might wonder how We Wish You A Merry Christmas suddenly turns to “now bring us some figgy pudding/we won’t go until we get some”.
In the European tradition, carollers were a group of musicians who went from house to house to spread some festive cheer in exchange for food and drink.
Emily Bronte wrote about this in Wuthering Heights.
“[These carollers] go the rounds of all the respectable houses, and receive contributions every Christmas, and we esteemed it a first-rate treat to hear them,” related Mrs Dean, the main narrator of Wuthering Heights.
One particular carol which harks back to medieval England, is traditionally sung to accompany the entrance of The Boar's Head into the banqueting hall.
Some of the songs mention different payments. Wassailers specifically want apple cider, while Good King Wenceslas includes a verse that begins with: “Bring me flesh and bring me wine.”
A fair number of more recent Christmas songs also mention food, including chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and the ultimate Australian classic: Paul Kelly’s How To Make Gravy.
What are the different classical music traditions at Christmas?
From intricate Renaissance polyphony to Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s The Christmas Card, the classical music tradition is full of great Christmas music.
Because many composers were trained or employed by the church, most of them wrote music to honour the event.
In the 1700s, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a Christmas Oratorio, which is the Christmas story told through music.
Another beloved favourite at Christmas for audiences and choirs alike is George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, a musical narrative of Christ’s life from birth to resurrection.
Many churches also have traditions of their own, such as lessons and carols which alternates readings of the bible and singing from the choir. The most famous is the King’s College Choir’s Nine Lessons and Carols.
Many Australians would be familiar with the Carols By Candlelight concerts, a tradition which was popularised in Melbourne in 1938.
The event was a way to bring people together at Christmas time through music and the sense of community. It was inspired by a beautiful story of a lone woman singing Away In A Manger in a candle-lit room.
We’ve even got our own Christmas carol tradition at ABC Classic.
In 2020, the Classic Choir began as a project to bring people together during the isolation of COVID-19 lockdowns. Since then, we’ve been asking composers to write new music celebrating the unique experience of Australian Christmas and summertime.
The latest song, The Christmas Card by Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, has become an instant hit for many choirs.
What’s some new music for my Christmas playlist?
We asked ABC Classic presenters to share some of their favourite carols for your Christmas playlist.
“Coventry Carol is an achingly beautiful carol from the 16th century. The dark undercurrent of the story of Herod's Massacre of the Innocents is offset by a haunting and angelic descant that floats above the choir.” — Alice Keath
“When John Williams was tasked with writing music for a young child confronting home invaders, he came up with two new Christmas Carols.
“Somewhere in my memory and Star of Bethlehem are Christmas miracles for the ages.” — Dan Golding
“For many people, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without Handel’s Messiah, though during the composer’s lifetime, the oratorio would be performed at Easter rather than Christmas.
“The Symphonia is a transition between the prophecy and the coming of Christ in the Christmas story. I love it because the music is so calm!” — Ed Le Brocq
“There's nothing more Christmassy than the sound of children's voices and harp.” — Genevieve Lang
“Sleigh Ride was written in an infamous heatwave in 1948, so whatever summer weather you might be having right now, know that Leroy Anderson was feeling the heat too!” — Joel Carnegie
“The Nutcracker is an evergreen Christmas favourite which always creates a wonderland for imaginative minds.
“You might recognise it from Home Alone and also the original Fantasia.” — Lucas Burns
“No Christmas is complete without the voices of children — in this case Hansel and Gretel, Humperdinck’s magic opera.
“The Sandman has just put grains of sand into their eyes and they can barely keep awake. Before they fall asleep, Hansel and Gretel sing about the angels who will watch over them through the night.” — Mairi Nicolson
“I'm a massive fan of Schubert’s Ave Maria, and my favourite version is this '40s recording with an angelic choir and Mexican trumpeter Rafael Mendez. It’s glorious and very Christmassy.” — Megan Burslem
“This song hits all the warm spots in my stomach: a gorgeous tune, beautiful words and such a lovely arrangement for choirs. It has become my new personal favourite and a song for the ages!” — Ria Andriani
“Berlioz was in his late 40s when he had the idea to write a cantata based on the Birth of Christ which was followed by his family’s flight to Egypt. The Shepherds’ Farewell embodies the moment when the world seems to stand still.” — Russell Torrance
“Many Africans living in the diaspora have found ourselves gravitating to festivals that are based in traditional African principles. The harvest festival Kwanzaa runs from December 26th to January 1st, with each day celebrating a different community principle – starting with Umoja, meaning “unity”.
“African-American composer and flautist Valerie Coleman captures the gathering Kwanzaa energy in her Umoja for woodwinds. I love how each player's melodic line is joined then shared by others, amplifying everyone uniting in the true spirit of Umoja.” — Stéphanie Kabanyana Kanyandekwe
“I have a playlist of all kinds of singing traditions celebrating all kinds of things during the holiday season, including some of the music Salamone Rossi intended to fill 17th century synagogues the way such singing filled churches in his time in Italy.” — Vanessa Hughes
Sign up to the ABC Classic Newsletter
