There are 21 Christmas carols in this book including O Holy Night, O Tannenbaum, Good King Wenceslas, and so many more. Each chapter features the history of one song, the lyrics, and the sheet music.
As someone who has been involved in music for over 19 years, I truly enjoyed learning about the histories of these songs! This book is actually quite technical, getting into the history and origins of the songs and even the theory and composition of each. It was an enlightening to learn new things about old songs and traditions, such as the song, "O Tannenbaum." After much research on the author's part, it was learned that "Oh Christmas Tree" used to be "O Tannenbaum." Tannenbaum is another word for an evergreen tree and the song actually had nothing to do with Christmas at all. Many of the Christmas carols we know and love don't actually have anything to do with Christmas. I was fairly surprised about this since I have grown up singing many of these songs.
I think this is an excellent book for anyone interested in or involved in music. It will be fun to go through these histories with my girls during the next couple of weeks and months leading up to Christmas. We love music and history so it will go hand in hand for us. I rate this book as 5 stars.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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