Tomorrow is Christmas! As the most important traditional festival in the West, music is naturally indispensable.
So when it comes to Christmas-related music, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Perhaps many people will first ring the melody of "Jingle bells" in their minds. But you may not know that this popular joy song was not originally written for Christmas.
In 1857, the American composer James Rod Pierpont was resting in a tavern in Medford, Massachusetts, coinciding with the famous local bobsleigh competition, and the lively and happy atmosphere aroused his enthusiasm for creation, so he wrote this song, originally called "One Horse Open Sleigh", which was later used for thanksgiving performances in a church school that year.
Two years later, the song was republished, renamed "Jingle bells" for easy memories, and mistakenly became a Christmas song, which was sung all over the world.
If you're tired of listening to the common children's version, you can also try listening to other versions of the song. For example, at the 1999 Christmas Concert in Vienna, the world's three tenors Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras sang "Jingle bells", which was sonorous and powerful, and had a special charm. 「Link」
You can also feel the jazz version sung by contemporary jazz musician Winton Marsalis and his daughter, and the notes become smart.
Jingle Bells- by Wynton Marsalis & Friends - Brooks Brothers_ Bilibili _bilibili
Of course, in addition to Jingle bells, there are many classic, story-telling Christmas music that we should revisit during the holiday season.
01：God rest ye merry gentlemen
This Christmas song, perhaps many people will feel strange just by looking at the title, but when the melody sounds, everyone will definitely feel familiar.
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Priests - QQ Music - 10 Million Genuine Music Massive Lossless Music Library New Songs Hot Songs Listen to High Quality Music Platforms Every Day!
Dating back to England in the 15th century, the song is said to have been sung by night watchers during Christmas for the nobility for extra income, and after hundreds of years of circulation, it was finally published in a collection of festive carols in the 1830s.
To this day, the song is still widely available in European cities. American pop diva Maria Kelly also covered her 1994 Christmas album.
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Mariah Carey - QQ Music - 10 Million Genuine Music Massive Lossless Music Library New Songs Hot Songs Listen to High Quality Music Platforms Every Day!
In 2016, the well-known American Acapella orchestra Pentatonix also reinterpreted the song in a purely vocal way, so that this ancient piece of music has been rejuvenated in a young and trendy way after five or six hundred years of birth.
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Pentatonix - QQ Music - 10 Million Genuine Music Massive Lossless Music Library New Songs Hot Songs Listen to High Quality Music Platforms Every Day!
Of course, if you have listened to Zhang Shaohan's "Fables", you will find that the two songs are also somewhat similar - the chorus of "Fables" also borrows the main theme of this song.
02: Silent Night
This is also a classic Christmas song that has been circulating for nearly two hundred years. The author of the song was an Austrian music teacher named Franzi Gruber in the early 19th century.
Silent Night - Angelis - QQ Music - 10 Million Genuine Music Massive Lossless Music Library New Songs Hot Songs Listen to High Quality Music Platforms Every Day!
Originally a manual laborer, Gruber learned to play the organ through self-study, so at the age of 28, he became an organist in the local church. On Christmas Eve 1818, the church's deputy priest brought a poem for him to compose, and the "Christmas Eve" was born.
Today the song has almost become the official song of the festival, translated into many languages and circulated around the world. It is also sung by many superstars at Christmas concerts.
The superstars sang The Spirit Night [Merry Christmas] Bilibili _bilibili
For a long time, the composer of this work was unknown, and no one expected that this work of a long history was written by an obscure music teacher.
03：Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Born in 1971, the song was an anti-war Christmas song written and performed by Beatles lead singer John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono. At this time, four years before the end of the Vietnam War, there was an urgent desire for peace, and the U.S. position was becoming increasingly unpopular.
John Lennon, together with Yoko Ono and the Children's Choir of Harlem Society, recorded this song that calls for peace and longs for a Merry Christmas.
Happy Xmas(War Is Over) (Ultimate Mix) - John Lennon/Yoko Ono - QQ Music - 10 Million Genuine Music Massive Lossless Music Library New Songs Hot Songs Listen to high-quality music platforms every day!
Part of the song's lyrics come from anti-war commercials from the Vietnam War, and part of the harmonies and melodies come from some country folk songs.
The innocent children's voice in the song repeatedly chants: A very merry Christmas A happy Christmas
And a happy New Year
A Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Let's pray it's Merry Christmas
Without any fear
There is no fear or apprehension
Always peaceful, no worries, happy moving forward. Once, now and in the future, this is undoubtedly the best holiday blessing we can think of.
04：Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
Yusi has previously interpreted this piece through video, which breaks the traditional harmony and creatively combines Chinese and Western elements, which is good to listen to and enduring.
Where is Ryuichi Sakamoto's big hit song? _Bilibili _bilibili
The piece was composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto for The film of the same name directed by Nagisa Oshima, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, and is his earliest film score debut.
The film tells the story of the confrontation between the two opposing sides in the context of World War II, and then collides on the spiritual level. The line "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" in the film is the finishing touch to the audience. And this soundtrack of Ryuichi Sakamoto leaves endless imagination space for the story.
Therefore, even if this song is not written for Christmas, it still becomes a must-hear track for many people at Christmas because of its good sound and the sense of story behind it.
Merry Merry Mr. Lawrence Main Theme - Ryuichi Sakamoto - QQ Sound - 100 million positive version of the sound volume 无损库库慍慍库热库热热亅听亨听亨乐乑乐乐乑乐乐乑𰵉丩丩乐丩両両亨亨乐
05：All I Want For Christmas Is You
Since Maria Carey's 1994 Christmas album is mentioned above, we can't ignore another hit from her album, "All I Want For Christmas Is You."
All I Want for Christmas Is You (Original Version) - Mariah Carey - QQ Music - 10 Million Genuine Music Massive Lossless Music Library New Songs Hot Songs Listen to High Quality Music Platforms Every Day!
Christmas is Maria Kelly's favorite holiday since she was a child, and the warm and cheerful atmosphere during the festival gave her great inspiration, and it is said that it took only 15 minutes to complete the writing of this Christmas song. If you listen closely, the song doesn't seem to have a chorus part—Maria Carey used a retro 1940s and 1950s style to create a nostalgia that evokes nostalgia.
The whole song is very rock style, the mood is high, joyful, not only let people feel the strong love between lovers, but also experience the infinite enthusiasm for life, the sound of sleigh bells, but also outline a Christmas lights, lively holiday atmosphere scene.
Every year before Christmas, the song will quickly rejuvenate and return to the top of the major music charts in the United States. As a result, Kelly was also called "The Queen of Christmas" by the American media, and the song was also jokingly called her "pension insurance".
Recently, the song once again topped the Billboard Singles Chart, the third consecutive year that the nearly 30-year-old has topped the list.
A classical track for Christmas
Of course, in addition to the Christmas pop songs mentioned above, you may also want to listen to some Christmas-themed classical music or opera to add to the festive atmosphere.
Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" is one of the most successful and classic Christmas musical works in hundreds of years, telling the origin and birth process of Christmas.
Bach Christmas Oratorio BWV.248 nr.1 - Jos van Veldhoven - Dutch Bach Association _ Evijoker _ High Sound Quality Online Audition _ Bach Christmas Oratorio BWV.248 nr.1 - Jos van Veldhoven - Dutch Bach Association Lyrics | Song Download _ Kugou Music
The December part of Tchaikovsky's Four Seasons Suite is named "Christmas"; his "The Nutcracker" became the signature performance of Christmas.
December: Christmas - Emish Studio - QQ Music - 10 Million Genuine Music Massive Lossless Music Library New Songs Hot Songs Listen to High Quality Music Platforms Every Day!
The "three sets of cars" excerpt from Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kijie" suite also has a strong Christmas atmosphere. British rock singer Greg Lake once sang a Christmas title song, "I Believe in Father Christmas", which is based on this classic music.
【Tribute】 Concert to commemorate the 130th anniversary of Prokofiev's birth_Bilibili _bilibili
Of course, good music should never limit the opportunity to listen, and I hope that in ordinary days, everyone can often accompany music.
Finally, what are your favorite Christmas musics? Welcome to the comments section to share with us