The Annotated Christmas Song Book

Episode 27 of the daily podcast spends Christmas Eve at a French home to take in their elegant traditions practiced on the night before Christmas. While there we take in an original performance of the holiday folk song "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella".

Episode 26 of the daily podcast takes in the world of the Christmas panto, a long enduring and well loved British comic tradition designed to entertain the whole family. And keeping in a comedic vein an original sing along performance of the Music Hall favorite "Miss Hooligan's Christmas Cake" is served up to the brave at heart.

Episode 25 of the daily podcast takes a glance at the world of Hallmark Christmas romance movies which is followed by an original song about strangers discovering attraction at a Christmas party: "Holiday With You"

Episode 24 of the daily podcast turns its attention to Christmas Pageants and takes a kid's eye view of which roles are the best. This is followed by an original performance of "Rise Up Shepherd and Follow" for all those children dressed in bathrobes with towels tied around their heads.

Episode 23 of the daily podcast deciphers some obscure phrases found in Christmas songs before unravelling the meaning of "Auld Lang Syne" and explaining why it's sung at New Year's Eve. An original performance of the song follows.

Episode 22 of the daily podcast finds destinies in names. This was the case with song writer William Chatterton Dix whose name led him to greatness. “What Child is This” is the featured song.

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 21 of the daily podcast turns its attention to angels by telling the legend behind the iconic Angel of Nuremburg and follows it with an original performance of "Gabriel's Message" which retells the story of the angelic message given to Mary. 

Angels We Have Heard by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=004&page=1 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Episode 20 of the daily podcast tells how a gesture of goodwill led to a world wide Christmas institution. This leads into the performance of a new Christmas song "Merry Christmas Mama".

Episode 19 of the daily podcast investigates the man who inspired “Good King Wenceslas” and finds a carol full of contradictions and misinformation. Or is it? The mystery is followed by a performance of the famous song.

Episode 18 of the daily podcast tells the story of how acclaimed poet Christina Rosetti came to write one of the world's most moving Christmas carols. This followed by an original performance of that song: "In the Bleak Midwinter".

Episode 17 of the daily podcast retells the inspiring legend of the Fourth Wise Man followed by an original performance of the Christmas favorite "The First Noel".

Episode 16 of the daily podcast tells the tale of how a broken church organ led to a musical creation that touched the world. Then Holy Trinity Anglican Church’s magnificent Cassavant organ performs a a special Christmas composition.

Canon and Variation by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/

Episode 15 of the daily podcast turns its attention to Cecil Sharp, a man whose unexpected Christmas encounter changed his life and the world of music forever. This is followed by an original performance of The Holly and the Ivy, one of the songs he saved from oblivion.

Episode 14 of the daily podcast travels to Edinburgh to experience a local Christmas and explain why Christmas was banned in Scotland for centuries. This introduces a well loved traditional Scottish song of the season: "The Christ Child Lullaby".

Episode 13 recounts some good deeds done at Christmas time along with the wish that the spirit of the season should stick around. A wish also expressed in Andy Northrup's original song.

Episode 12 of the daily podcast turns its attention to one of the world’s best loved Christmas carols and discovers a profound mystery at its heart. What is the untold secret of “Away in the Manger”?

Episode 11 of the daily podcast explains why “Merry” is an adjective used for Christmas, but not for any other holiday. This is logically followed by a performance of “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”.

Episode 10 of the daily podcast tells the story of the magnificent carol that grew out of darkness and inspired new hope: "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear".

Episode 9 of the daily podcast takes on the task of defining some of weirder and obscure words in Christmas carol lyrics and finds some surprising roots. And after decoding the word wassail we’re treated to a rousing performance of the ancient “Gloucestershire Wassail”.

Episode 8 of the daily podcast looks at the surprisingly turbulent and world changing life of one of the world's favorite Christmas songs: O Holy Night. This is followed by a beautiful performance of the song itself.

Episode 7 of the daily podcast unveils the astounding history and varieties of Nativity Scenes around the world with traditions sacred, surprising and outright bizarre. This introduces the serene stable scene painted by the ancient French carol "Entre le Boeuf er L'Ane Gris".

Episode 6 of the daily podcast visits Bethlehem Pennsylvania to take in the traditions and celebrations and find out why it rightly calls itself Christmas City USA. Naturally this heralds a performance of "O Little Town of Bethlehem".

Episode 5 of the daily podcast looks at the legendary origin of one of the best loved of holiday traditions: NORAD's Christmas Eve tracking of Santa's journey around the world. This is followed by a little known carol that celebrates Yuletide around the world: "Everywhere, Everywhere, Christmas Tonight".

Episode 4 of the daily podcast takes a look at some songs that are part of the Christmas tradition without ever actually being about Christmas at all. This introduces a rousing performance of "Joy to the World" courtesy of Holy Trinity Anglican Church's magnificent Casavant organ.

Episode 3 of the daily podcast heralds the most famous Christmas song about the Three Kings with the Italian story of their encounter with a witch who becomes legendary in her own right.

Episode 2 of a daily podcast celebrating the music and lore of Christmas. This episode opens the Atlas to find places inspired by Christmas. Also featuring an original performance of "Go Tell It On the Mountain".

Beginning a daily podcast celebrating the music of Christmas and the stories that surround them. Each episode features an original performance of a song from the Christmas Song Book introduced with an annotation: a story connected to the history, legend, themes or context of that song. Entertaining and enlightening.

Episode One looks at music meant to be enjoyed in the days before Christmas plus the performance of an original Advent carol.

A preview of the upcoming Christmas podcast. An enchanting and enlightening dive into the songs of Christmas and the stories that surround them. Starting on November 28 a new episode will premiere daily up until Christmas. It's an audio Advent calendar of amazing original performances matched with entertaining and enlightening stories from the Holiday World.