Download Classical Christmas Carols, Songs, and Music Here

Angelus ad Virginem and Ther is no rose of swych vertu are both examples of English polyphonic music from the middle ages. The tune Angelus ad Virginem is mentioned in the Canterbury Tales.

Diex soit en cheste maison was written by the trouvere Adam de la Halle (ca. 1250-ca. 1300). With its lyrics wishing well to one's hosts ("God be in this house, and wealth, and joy"), it's a medieval ancestor to carols like "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and wassailing tunes.

Villancicos de diversos Autores, also known as the Cancionero de Upsala, is a collection of Spanish and Catalan carols published in Venice in 1556. Riu Riu Chiu is the most famous of these villancicos, we also include recordings of Dadme albricias, hijos d'Eva, E la don, don, Verges Maria, and Verbum caro factum est.

Ding Dong Merrily on High was originally a Renaissance dance called "Branle L'Officiel," from Thoinot Arbeau's treatise Orchesographie (1588). It made an a appearance in a two-part arrangement in an 18th-century French music text, but then disappeared until G.R. Woodward added the words and published it with an arrangement by Charles Wood in the Cambridge Carol Book in 1925. We perform the tune with tambourin-style accompaniment, then the 18th-century two-part version, then an original four-part arrangement.

Resonet in Laudibus is a medieval carol that was later adapted into "Joseph, lieber Joseph mein." Recorded here is a Renaissance setting by Jacob Handl, also known as Jacobus Gallus (1550-1591).

Michael Praetorius (ca. 1571-1621) published a wealth of music for the entire church year in Musae Sioniae, printed in several volumes from 1605 to 1611. This is the source of his famous Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen (Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming), and three short settings we've chosen of Vom Himmel Hoch.

Daniel Read (1757-1841) was an early American composer of sacred music. His still-popular tune "Sherburne," a setting of the text While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night, was included in many shape-note publications, such as The Southern Harmony and The Sacred Harp.

Classical Christmas files	MP3	MIDI	Lyrics
Angelus ad Virginem	mp3
Ther is no rose of swych vertu	mp3		lyrics
de la Halle: Diex soit en cheste maison	mp3
Dadme albricias, hijos d'Eva	mp3
E la don, don, Verges Maria	mp3		lyrics
Verbum caro factum est	mp3
Arbeau: Ding Dong Merrily on High	mp3
Bach: Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring	mp3
Daniel Read: While Shepherds Watched	mp3		lyrics
Gallus: Resonet in Laudibus	mp3
Praetorius: Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen	mp3		lyrics
Praetorius: Vom Himmel Hoch	mp3		lyrics