As we near the halfway point of both Hanukkah and Advent, and rapidly approach the winter solstice, I suppose it is time to share the first of what I think of as proper Christmas carols. The word “carol” isn’t terribly well-defined, but for me at least, the idea of Christmas carols is inextricably linked with the act of singing together, in community.

I mentioned near the start of this series that each December during my childhood my family would have a Christmas carolling party. We would gather 20 or 30 friends and walk around the blocks around our house knocking on doors and singing carols for anyone who answered (mostly in unison, with my sister and I improvising descants as we got older). The act of singing together with other voices is to this day my favorite part of music making, and when it comes to Christmas carols, I think it’s safe to assume that many readers of this will feel the same way. For this reason, the singing of traditional carols together has been a part of Voices’ Holiday concerts, and while we cannot gather together this year to do it in person, I invite you to sing along with this clip if you are so moved. – Wesley Chinn

Join us for our Candlelight Holiday Concert

Streaming live on December 15th at 7 pm

FELIX MENDELSSOHN Hark the Herald Angels Sing (arr. Willcocks)

Voices of Ascension
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director

Recorded live at the Voices of Ascension CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Wednesday, December 12, 2018, The Church of the Ascension, New York City
The singers in this performance are represented by the
American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO.