Advent Calendar 2022: Day 11 👼

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As it is Sunday I am, as usual, bringing you a selection of Christmas carols, in less than traditional settings. Things are a little stuffed behind today’s Advent Calendar door, though: there are four songs and another Christmas ad. All of the songs have featured in previous years, but not all got a look in last year, so they will hopefully feel new to you anyway.

My first one for today is one of the most well-known and loved of carols, and I think this version is stunning:

Sinead O’Connor sings that so beautifully and tenderly, with absolutely no diva tendencies getting in the way of a simple, but lovely, tune. The video is gorgeous, too. This was released as a non-album single in 1991, reaching #12 in Ireland and #60 in the UK. I think it deserved so much better. The carol itself dates back to 1818, when it was composed by Joseph Mohr and Franz Xaver Gruber in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, in Austria.

My next carol is also from an Irish singer with a beautiful voice:

I tried to find a live video of Enya singing this, but she doesn’t really do those, does she? There is her usual ethereal quality about this, which I think really fits the carol well. I also like the version by The Civil Wars but on balance I decided to go for this lyric video of Enya’s version, which adds to the beauty of the music, while the images help to enhance the atmosphere. This was a track on Enya’s album And Winter Came which was released in November 2008, reaching #6 in the UK and #8 in the US. The carol was originally written in Latin, and dates back as far as the monastic days of the 8th and 9th centuries. The most commonly used version in the English-speaking world, i.e. this one, dates back to an 1851 translation by John Mason Neale. A brief history lesson for you there!

A band I first featured here in my occasional Under The Covers series is Foxes And Fossils, who have become something of a YouTube success in the past few years. They originally shared videos of live performances but in past the three years or so, even before the pandemic started, they have concentrated on studio recordings. Over the years there have been three ‘Foxes’ though only two at a time in live shows, but the studio versions have enabled them to include all three. They have shared their versions of several carols, and this one dates from December 2019:

If you don’t think that is lovely, then I’m afraid you might need to get your hearing checked! Tastefully understated playing, and beautiful vocals. Seven of their videos have passed the 3m views mark, the leader having been seen more than 4.6m times, and they have been continuing to gain new subscribers to their YouTube channel. Not band for a semi-pro band, really! They now have a large collection of videos and if you like good music I can highly recommend visiting them on YouTube. They are also venturing out for some live shows at the end of this month, though only in their local area, sadly.

Today’s final carol is a little more jaunty than the others. It is also one of my favourites, going right back to the carol concerts we used to attend every year when I was little. This version is great:

Isn’t that gorgeous? The Chieftains have released many albums featuring an array of guest singers, and this song with Marianne Faithfull is from one of those: The Bells of Dublin, which came out in 1991. I can’t find any details of chart placings, but the album has been certified ‘Gold’ in the US for over 500k sales, so I think it has done alright. Another of the guests on the album is Jackson Browne, who recorded a version of his song The Rebel Jesus, which I featured on Day 3 of this series.

That’s today’s four songs, but I did promise you another ad, didn’t I. Last Sunday I played you this year’s new ad by a small company in Yorkshire, Sam Teale Productions, which has been the subject of national press reports and has really taken off as a result: it is now up to 492k views on YouTube. It was a real tear jerker, and many of you said how much you liked it. It was their second go at doing this, and in view of how well received that one was I thought I’d share the previous one with you as well. Unlike this year’s it hasn’t gone viral – just the 24k views so far – but it is still rather nice:

I rather like the way they introduce the slightly unexpected happy ending to that and, like this year’s, the whole production is incredibly good. I hope their business is inundated with new client requests, as I think they deserve it. In case you were wondering, the music is by someone new to me, Jessie Marie Villa, and the song is a stripped down version of The Glow, which in its original has more of a backing. I think it is also rather lovely, and a nice accompaniment to the video.

A busy Advent Calendar day draws to a close. Just time for an image before I go:

See you again tomorrow, for some more lovely music 🎅

40 thoughts on “Advent Calendar 2022: Day 11 👼”

  3. Great takes on some of the most traditional Christmas songs. I read somewhere that Sinead is against organized religion, and interestingly, she chose to sing what most would see as a song with religious connotations. I’m not disputing the beauty of her version. The Enya version is hauntingly beautiful. I have become a fan of Foxes and Fossils through your blog. Marianne Faithful and the variety of instruments work well don’t he last one. Four out of four for me today, Clive.

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    • A good result, Pete. Sounds like an A+ to me 🤣

      Sinead is a very complex character so I’m sure she had her reason for doing this one. And she did it beautifully. ‘Haunting’ is a good word to describe much of Enya’s music, I think. I’m glad you liked the others too: very different styles but equally charming in their own way. I love the relaxed vibe in the studios with Marianne and the Chieftains: she had a reputation for being difficult but they all seem to be enjoying playing together.

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  11. These are all perfect for a Sunday before Christmas. I love the Sinead O’Conner version and the video is very Dickensian. You can never go wrong with Enya, such a lovely voice. Foxes And Fossils do an excellent job of one of my favourite carols. I own The Bells of Dublin and play it every Christmas season. We love the Chieftains and have been to see them perform a couple of times. (of course, the ad made me cry)

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  12. As a still new grandfather I can’t help but smile at the ad; before, cynical old me would’ve rolled his eyes, snorted and said ‘bah, humbug!’ Not now though. As always, fine choices, and off the beaten Christmas Tracks path too.

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