One of my pet peeves with regard to the Christmas season is badly sung Christmas carols.
I am sick to death of jazzed up versions of Christmas carols. I am sick to death of arrangements that change the tune, elongate notes (or shorten them), use awkward time signatures (3/4 instead of what should be a 4/4 tune) or versions where the singer plays up her (and it's usually her) voice instead of focusing on the lyrics.
The worst are versions that use highly incompatible musical styles. Traditional Christmas carols are not meant to be jazz or R & B or techno. (I imagine there must be exceptions, but the key is that the song respect the tune, the lyrics and the spirit of the message.)
So I went looking on Youtube for traditional Christmas Carols, sung properly.
I did not look for big names. I didn't even pay attention to the video. I listened to the tune, and I either liked it or I didn't.
In the following days, you can expect to see more videos of carols sung right.
I recommend you add them to your own Youtube Christmas playlist.
Without further ado: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen:
