A Weekly Meme from GReads!
Since music is one of the main things in my life outside of books, I jumped on the bandwagon for this fun meme.
Since it's the end of the year, we all know what that means - CHRISTMAS TIME! I'm sure you're already annoyed hearing all the tunes take over the radio stations and department stores, but I have a soft spot for certain Christmas pieces. There really are some great ones out there. Some of the religious pieces especially sum up a sense of peace and divinity for the winter season. Allow me to indulge in showcasing some of my favorites. Also, be sure to check out the Halloween ones I did in the past as that was great fun as well.
Oh Holy Night
The lyrics of this beautiful, inspiring piece are enchanting. It's as much a worship song as a Christmas song, suitable for listening to all year.
One of the more common and popular ones is Celtic Woman/Chloe Agnew They have beautiful voices, but for some reason this is not a favorite version of mine. It shows lovely singing, but seems to be missing something.
I also dislike the rock and pop versions. Mariah Carey, as an example, is a gorgeous singer, but this isn't a song that needs added rock or pop rhythm. It's supposed to be ethereal and meditative. I think adding these twists of elements takes away from the sacred aspect of the song.
I include a Celine Dion version. She does get a bit overdone at a
section or two, but overall her voice is beautiful for this piece and I
love the chorus in the background. She does an excellent job with this
one. Frankly I'm not the biggest fan of some of her other Christmas
pieces, but I think when it comes to this song she's the winner.
Kelly Clarkson has a voice that was clearly made to sing something like
this. The video is her singing live at the Christmas tree lighting.
Amazing stuff!
Josh Groban's powerful, clear voice is perfect for this song as well, so
of course I had to include his version as a winner as well. I'd like to
hear more men sing this song. It seems like mainly it's a strength for
women vocals, but I love men's voice with strong Christmas music as well
and think they can give it as much credit.
I've also included Javier Fontana. His voice is incredibly interesting -
clear, confident, far reaching. Clear natural born talent.
