Christmas Carol View Sheet Music for this Artist
Traditionally, carols have often been based on medieval chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound. Some carols like "Personent hodie" and "Angels from the Realms of Glory" can be traced directly back to the Middle Ages, and are among the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung. Carols suffered a decline in popularity after the Reformation in the countries where Protestant churches gained prominence (although well-known Reformers like Martin Luther authored carols and encouraged their use in worship), but survived in rural communities until the revival of interest in carols in the 19th century. The first appearance in print of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", "The First Noel", "I Saw Three Ships" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" was in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833) by William B. Sandys. Composers like Arthur Sullivan helped to repopularize the carol, and it is this period that gave rise to such favorites as "Good King Wenceslas" and "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear", a New England carol written by Edmund H. Sears and Richard S. Willis.
Today carols are regularly sung at Christian religious services . Some compositions have words which are clearly not of a religious theme, but are often still referred to as "carols". For example, the sixteenth century song ""A Bone, God Wot!" appears to be a wassailing song (which is sung during drinking or while requesting ale), but is described in the British Museum's Cottonian Collection as a Christmas carol.
It is often difficult to draw a distinction between a Christmas carol and a Christmas song. To be sung by a church choir or sung in the street by amateurs, a song would have to have a fairly rapid, regular beat, which would therefore exclude a meandering crooning song such as "White Christmas". A country music song such as "Blue Christmas" might qualify, but in this case it would have to be adopted by many choirs, over many years to be truly "vernacular", and so far it has failed to gain wide acceptance. The Concise Oxford Dictionary is more generous, as it defines a carol as a "religious song...associated with Christmas".
Christmas Carol Sheet Music
Click on a song to see the sheet music arrangements
| Song Title |
Arrangements |
| A Boy Is Born In Bethlehem |
1 |
| A Child This Day |
1 |
| A Day, Bright Day Of Glory |
1 |
| A Merry Christmas (jazzy arrangement) |
1 |
| A Virgin Unspotted |
1 |
| Although You Are So Tiny |
1 |
| Angels From The Realms Of Glory |
4 |
| Angels We Have Heard On High |
6 |
| Angels, From The Realms Of Glory |
1 |
| Arbolito |
1 |
| As Lately We Watched |
1 |
| Aujourd'hui Le Roi Des Cieux |
1 |
| Auld Lang Syne |
11 |
| Away In A Manger |
53 |
| Away In A Manger (jazzy arrangement) |
1 |
| Bells Over Bethlehem |
1 |
| Boar's Head Carol |
1 |
| Bring A Torch, Jeannette Isabella |
3 |
| Campana Sobre Campana |
1 |
| Carol Of The Bells |
7 |
| Carol Of The Birds |
1 |
| Child Jesus Came To Earth This Day |
1 |
| Children Go Where I Send Thee |
2 |
| Christ Is Born This Evening |
1 |
| Christ Was Born On Christmas Day |
1 |
| Christians Awake |
1 |
| Christians, Awake! Salute The Happy Morn |
1 |
| Christmas Eve Is Here |
1 |
| Come Hasten Ye Shepherds |
1 |
| Coventry Carol |
5 |
| Dame, Get Up And Bake Your Pies |
1 |
| Dear Baby Jesus, Now Rest In Sleep |
1 |
| Deck The Hall (jazzy arrangement) |
1 |
| Deck The Halls |
9 |
| Dime Niño De Quien Eres |
1 |
| Ding Dong! Merrily On High! |
5 |
| Douce Nuit, Sainte Nuit |
51 |
| Eastern Monarchs, Sages Three |
1 |
| From O'er The Hills Of Fair Judea |
1 |
| Fum, Fum, Fum |
2 |
| Gather Round The Christmas Tree |
1 |
| Gesù Bambino (The Infant Jesus) |
2 |
| God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman (jazzy arrangement) |
1 |
| God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen |
7 |
| God Rest You Merry Gentlemen |
43 |
| Good Christian Men, Rejoice |
4 |
| Good King Wenceslas |
42 |
| Hark! The Herald Angels Sing |
7 |
| Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (jazzy arrangement) |
1 |
| He Is Born |
1 |
| He Is Born, The Holy Child (Il Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant) |
2 |
| Here We Come A-Wassailing |
6 |
| How Far Is It To Bethlehem? |
1 |
| I Saw Three Ships |
5 |
| Ihr Kinderlein kommet |
6 |
| In Dulci Jubilo |
3 |
| In The Field With Their Flocks Abiding |
1 |
| Infant Holy |
1 |
| Infant Holy, Infant Lowly |
2 |
| It Came Upon A Midnight Clear |
9 |
| Jesus Holy, Born So Lowly |
1 |
| Jolly Old St. Nicholas |
5 |
| Joseph Dearest |
1 |
| Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine |
2 |
| Lay Down Your Staffs, O Shepherds |
1 |
| Le Petit Renne Au Nez Rouge |
1 |
| Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes |
1 |
| Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence |
3 |
| Let Our Gladness Know No End |
2 |
| Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming |
2 |
| Los Peces En El Río |
1 |
| Lullaby Of Mary And The Angels |
1 |
| March Of The Kings |
1 |
| Marche Des Rois |
1 |
| Maria Und Joseph |
1 |
| Mary Had A Baby |
3 |
| Masters In This Hall |
2 |
| Minuit, Chrétiens |
1 |
| Mon Beau Sapin |
1 |
| My Dancing Day |
1 |
| Neighbor, What Has You So Excited? |
1 |
| Noel! Noel! |
1 |
| Nu Är Det Jul Igen |
1 |
| O Bethlehem |
2 |
| O Christmas Tree |
5 |
| O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum) |
1 |
| O Come All Ye Faithful |
1 |
| O Come Away, Ye Shepherds |
1 |
| O Come Rejoicing |
1 |
| O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles) |
8 |
| O Come, O Come Emmanuel |
2 |
| O Come, O Come, Emmanuel |
3 |
| O Holy Night |
21 |
| O Sanctissima |
1 |
| O Thou Joyful Day |
1 |
| Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem |
45 |
| Old Yorkshire Gooding Carol |
1 |
| On Christmas Night |
1 |
| Once In Royal David's City |
16 |
| Past Three O' Clock |
2 |
| Pastores A Belen |
1 |
| Pat-A-Pan (Willie, Take Your Little Drum) |
4 |
| Quittez Pasteurs |
1 |
| Rejoice And Be Merry |
1 |
| Rejoice Thee, O Heaven |
1 |
| Rocking |
2 |
| Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer |
1 |
| Sans Day Carol |
1 |
| See Amid The Winter's Snow |
3 |
| Shepherd! Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep |
1 |
| Shepherds At The Cradle |
1 |
| Shepherds Left Their Flocks |
1 |
| Shout The Glad Tidings |
1 |
| Silent Night |
95 |
| Silent Night (jazzy arrangement) |
1 |
| Sing Lullaby |
1 |
| Sing We Now Of Christmas |
4 |
| Sleep, O Sleep, My Precious Child |
1 |
| Still, Still, Still |
3 |
| Stille Nacht |
86 |
| Sussex Carol |
4 |
| The 12 Days Of Christmas |
1 |
| The Boar's Head Carol |
1 |
| The First Nowell |
7 |
| The Friendly Beasts |
3 |
| The Holly And The Ivy |
18 |
| The Holly And The Ivy (jazzy arrangement) |
1 |
| The Shepherd's Story |
1 |
| The Simple Birth |
1 |
| The Snow Lay On The Ground |
3 |
| The Star Of Christmas Morning |
1 |
| The Truth From Above |
1 |
| The Twelve Days Of Christmas |
37 |
| Unto Us A Boy Is Born |
2 |
| Viens, Peuple Fidèle |
1 |
| Vive Le Vent |
1 |
| Vom Himmel Hoch |
1 |
| Wassail Song |
1 |
| Wassail! Wassail! |
1 |
| Watchman, Tell Us Of The Night |
1 |
| We Three Kings |
3 |
| We Three Kings (jazzy arrangements) |
1 |
| We Wish You A Merry Christmas |
50 |
| Wexford Carol |
1 |
| What Child Is This? |
6 |
| When Christ Was Born Of Mary Free |
1 |
| When Christmas Morn Is Dawning |
1 |
| While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks |
5 |
| Winter Wonderland (jazzy arrangement) |
1 |
