Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of carols or songs may employ lyrics whose subject matter ranges from the nativity of Jesus Christ, to gift-giving and merrymaking, to cultural figures such as Santa Claus, among other topics. Many songs simply have a winter or seasonal theme, or have been adopted into the canon for other reasons.
Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. McKennitt is known for her refined and clear soprano vocals. She has sold more than 14 million records worldwide.
"Good King Wenceslas" is a Christmas carol that tells a story of a Bohemian king going on a journey and braving harsh winter weather to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen. During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by following the king's footprints, step for step, through the deep snow. The legend is based on the life of the historical Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (907–935). The name Wenceslas is a Latinised version of Old Czech "Venceslav".
Archibald Lampman was a Canadian poet. "He has been described as 'the Canadian Keats;' and he is perhaps the most outstanding exponent of the Canadian school of nature poets." The Canadian Encyclopedia says that he is "generally considered the finest of Canada's late 19th-century poets in English."
The "Huron Carol" is a Canadian Christmas hymn, written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people; the song's original Huron title is "Jesous Ahatonhia". The song's melody is based on a traditional French folk song, "Une Jeune Pucelle". The well-known English lyrics were written in 1926 by Jesse Edgar Middleton and the copyright to these lyrics was held by The Frederick Harris Music Co., Limited, but entered the public domain in 2011.
Elemental is the debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Loreena McKennitt and the vehicle with which she launched the Quinlan Road label. The album was recorded in one week in July 1985 and released later in the year. The studio was a barn in southern Ontario, situated in a field of sunflowers. It sold 67,000 pieces worldwide.
The Mask and Mirror is the fifth studio album by Loreena McKennitt. Released in 1994, the album has been certified Gold in the United States.
The Book of Secrets is the sixth studio album by Loreena McKennitt, released in 1997. It reached #17 on the Billboard 200. Its single "The Mummers' Dance," remixed by DNA, was released during the winter of 1997–98, and peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #17 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album is certified double-platinum in the United States. It has now sold more than four million copies worldwide.
"The Death of Queen Jane" is an English ballad that describes the events surrounding the death of a Queen Jane. It is catalogued by Francis James Child as Child #170. Some of the versions given are Scottish, in which the queen's name is Jeanie or Jeany.
Tim Janis is an American composer with 10 Billboard charting CDs, over one million albums sold, five television specials, and a constant touring presence.
"The Seven Joys of Mary" is a traditional carol about Mary's happiness at moments in the life of Jesus, probably inspired by the trope of the Seven Joys of the Virgin in the devotional literature and art of Medieval Europe. Though not traditionally associated with Christmas, it has become so in the modern era.
The Greatest Holiday Classics is the fourth greatest hits album by saxophonist Kenny G. It was released by Arista Records in October 18, 2005, and peaked at number 1 on the Contemporary Jazz chart, number 26 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 39 on the Billboard 200.
Donald Quan is a Canadian composer of film and world music, best known for writing the scores to television shows Relic Hunter and Mutant X.
The Wexford Carol is a traditional religious Irish Christmas carol originating from County Wexford and, specifically, Enniscorthy. The subject of the song is the nativity of Jesus Christ.
A Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season is an EP by Loreena McKennitt. Recorded and released in 1995, it contains five tracks: three Christmas carols, McKennitt's adaptation of Archibald Lampman's poem "Snow", and the traditional English "Seeds of Love."
A Midwinter Night's Dream is the eighth studio album by the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist Loreena McKennitt, released on October 28, 2008.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley is the ninth studio album by the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist Loreena McKennitt, which was released on November 12, 2010.
Maybe This Christmas is a holiday compilation album released in November 2002 through Nettwerk Records featuring contemporary musicians performing both classic and original Christmas songs. The album, named by Ron Sexsmith, is the first in a series of three holiday compilations released through the record label between 2002 and 2004. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of each album went to Toys for Tots, a charity supported by the United States Marine Corps. Most of the tracks exclusive to Maybe This Christmas were recorded just a few months prior to its release. The album's cover art was designed by artist Paul Frank, creator of Julius the pictured "wide-mouth monkey". Critical reception of the compilation was mixed, with reviewers often complimenting or criticizing select tracks. In the United States, the album reached a peak position of number thirty-eight on Billboard's Top Holiday Albums chart.
"All Hail to the Days", also known as "Drive the Cold Winter Away", "In Praise of Christmas", and "The Praise of Christmas", is an English Christmas carol of Elizabethan origins. The carol first appeared as a broadside in circa 1625, though its origins are unclear; Thomas Durfrey is sometimes erroneously identified as the lyricist. Though obscure, the carol has featured in numerous hymnals over the centuries. It is traditionally sung to the tune "When Phoebus did rest", under which it is printed in the Pepys and Roxburgh collections and Playford’s The English Dancing Master.
[1] 
