The 47 best Christmas carols of all time

Here's a list of the best-ever Christmas carols for the festive season, as voted for by 50 top choral experts from across the UK and US. Do you agree with their choices?

Published: December 4, 2023 at 8:21 pm

Christmas carols. Without them, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas. From angel-singing, bell-ringing ebullience to deep, spiritual contemplation, nothing can match the Christmas carol in terms of creating an atmosphere – whether echoing through a vast cathedral, or sung by children in a nativity play, their power to move can be simply overwhelming. But which are the best Christmas carols of all time?

We reveal the top 47 Christmas carol songs, as voted for by 50 top choral experts from around the world. Do you agree with their choices or have we missed your favourite Christmas carol? Here is our ultimate Christmas carol list.

For a sneaky preview of their top 5 Christmas carols check out the video below

Contents

The best Christmas carol of all time

Greatest Christmas carols: numbers 2 to 10

Greatest Christmas carols: numbers 11 to 20

Greatest Christmas carols: numbers 21 to 30

Greatest Christmas carols: numbers 31 to 40

Greatest Christmas carols: numbers 41 to 47

The best Christmas carol of all time

1. In the Bleak Midwinter

Does any other carol get to the very heart of Christmas as understatedly but effectively as In The Bleak Midwinter? Christina Rossetti’s poem of 1872 is nigh-on perfect as a carol text : there’s the winter cold, the coming of Christ, the description of the nativity scene and, finally, that ‘What shall I give him?’ moment of self-reflection.

And then there’s the music. While Gustav Holst’s charming setting of 1909 is rightly loved by millions worldwide, it is the less well known but infinitely more stylish setting by Harold Darke from two years later that is many people's favourite.

Ten greatest Christmas carols of all time

2. In Dulci Jubilo

In Dulci Jubilo has a delightfully festive ancient German tune, which has enjoyed many interpretations. These include the famous Bach Christmas organ chorale prelude and the hymn ‘Good Christian Men Rejoice’. Not forgetting, of course, Mike Oldfield’s 1975 chart hit.

3. A Spotless Rose

The composer Herbert Howells revealed that the carol 'A Spotless Rose' came to him while he sat watching trains travelling from Bristol to Gloucester through the window of his Gloucestershire cottage.

4. Bethlehem Down

Composer Peter Warlock wrote the music to the beautiful Bethlehem Down. Journalist and poet Bruce Blunt penned the lyrics. The duo allegedly wrote the carol to fund an 'immortal carouse' (read: heavy bout of drinking) over Christmas 1927. Its particularly English strand make it perfect for the sombre yet reverent mood of many a traditional candle-lit carol service.

5. Lully, Lulla (The Coventry Carol)

The 16th-century carol 'Lully, lulla' or The Coventry Carol, is haunting, beautiful... and one of the greatest Christmas carols of all time. It's also somewhat dark, as Christmas carols go. Its rather bleak lyrics tell of a mother’s fears for her child as she lulls him to sleep.

6. Tomorrow shall be my Dancing Day

The Cornish carol Tomorrow shall be my Dancing Day was first published in 1833, when it appeared in William Sandys’s volume Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern. It is believed, though, to trace its roots back much further. 'Tomorrow shall be my Dancing Day' may originate with the Medieval mystery plays.

7. There is no Rose

The medieval text There is no Rose tells of a rose that represents the Virgin Mary. It's been set to music many times. The settings by Benjamin Britten and John Joubert have both become classic modern Christmas carols.

8. O Come all ye Faithful / Adeste Fideles

A perennial favourite, O Come all ye Faithful was nominated for our list of greatest Christmas carols of all time by Robert Hollingworth, founder of British vocal ensemble I Fagiolini. It is, we reasoned, perhaps the one Christmas carol without which no Christmas service would quite seem complete.

What's the clue to its magic? Perhaps it's the steadily increasing volume of the chorus, in which only the upper voices sing first, with all other voices then joining in with increasing festive gusto?

9. Of the Father’s Heart Begotten

Aside from its high placing in our top Christmas carols list, Of the Father's Heart Begotten deserves a very special mention. That's because it can trace its origins back a long way: it is, in fact, perhaps the first Christmas carol. ‘Corde natus ex parentis’, to give it its original name, was composed by the Roman poet Aurelius Prudentius Clemens. He was around in northern Spain in roughly 350 to 400 AD. A Christmas carol for the ages.

Five of the best ancient Christmas carols

10. What Sweeter Music

Our American readers may have first become familiar with this beautiful little masterpiece thanks to a certain Volvo car advert. Its origins, however, go back (a little) further. In fact, What Sweeter Music was written for the world-renowned choir of King’s College, Cambridge, for their 1987 service of Nine Lessons and Carols.

Greatest Christmas carols of all time: numbers 11 to 20

11. Once in Royal David’s City

It's a Christmas moment we are all familiar with, and one that never fails to make us catch our breath with emotion. Each year, one chorister from King’s College, Cambridge is selected for a great honour. They open the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols with the first, solo verse of 'Once in Royal David's City'. Their audience: a chapel packed to the gunwales… and several million radio listeners.

12. The Sussex Carol

Another historic carol. Not Roman, OK, but still some 300 years old. The Sussex Carol exudes an atmosphere of joy and celebration, from its cheery ‘On Christmas Night’ opening to its final, triumphant ‘Amen!’.

13. O Magnum Mysterium (Poulenc)

The French composer Francis Poulenc wrote no fewer than four Christmas motets. His first, a setting of the festive Gregorian chant 'O Magnum Mysterium', is the most solemn and haunting.

It also happens to be the most popular. We like many different things from our Christmas music, but a sense of spirituality is always welcome.

14. Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Two famous names loom large in the story f this much-loved Christmas carol. It was in 1739 that Charles Wesley wrote a Christmas hymn that began ‘Hark! how all the welkin rings, Glory to the King of Kings’. That was the first incarnation of what is now 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing'.

That's the lyrics, then. As to the melody, that came around a century later, from the fertile pen of the composer Felix Mendelssohn. He it was who composed the cantata Festgesang an die Künstler to commemorate 400 years since Gutenburg’s invention of the printing press.

The last piece in the jigsaw was British singer William Hayman Cummings, who put music and lyrics together in 1855 to create the much-loved Christmas carol.

Listen to our playlist of the Greatest Christmas carols of all time

15. O Magnum Mysterium (Victoria)

Another musical setting of this deeply spiritual Gregorian chant.

The 16th-century Spanish composer Tomás Luis de Victoria may have studied under the great Palestrina. We can’t be sure, but the fluid counterpoint of his 1572 motet O Magnum Mysterium certainly has strong echoes of the great Italian composer.

16. There is a Flower

The great British composer John Rutter beguiles audiences with his rich harmonies and folk-like melodies. They are contemporary - yet they often have the atmosphere of being written centuries ago. 'There is a Flower', with its simple, spare treble melody gradually enriched with delicious choral textures, is one such delight.

17. Hodie Christus Natus est (Poulenc)

And so to another of Poulenc’s Four Christmas Motets. The joyful 'Hodie Christus Natus Est' brings the tetralogy to a nicely rowdy conclusion!

18. The Little Road to Bethlehem

The British composer Michael Head spent time giving morale-raising piano recitals in factories during the Blitz. Soon after World War Two ended, he composed The Little Road to Bethlehem, a beguiling miniature for four-part choir.

19. No Small Wonder

Now here is a carol that packs plenty of power into its short running time. We begin with a soft organ introduction and an opening line sung in unison. After that, the singing expands arrestingly into four parts as the narrator marvels at the Christmas miracle.

The lyrics to No Small Wonder were written by Paul Wigmore. They were then set to music by organist and composer Paul Edwards in 2000. This one was voted by Matthew Steynor, director of music at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Miami. He told us that No Small Wonder is ‘chorally and aurally extremely satisfying’.

20. Hodie Christus Natus Est (Sweelinck)

The 17th-century Dutch composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck is perhaps best known for his keyboard works. But he also wrote some serious choral music. The joyful carol 'Hodie Christus Natus Est' is one of his finest essays in the form.

Greatest Christmas carols of all time: numbers 21 to 30

21. The Sans Day Carol

Also known as The Holly Bears a Berry, the Sans Day Carol traces its origins back to 19th-century Cornwall. The story is told that a certain Mr Watson heard it sung in St Day (Cornish: Sen Day), a village named after a Breton saint.

Watson wrote down the first three verses and chorus, and named his new carol after the village where he heard it. A fourth verse was added, and the carol was translated into English.

22. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen!

Another of the very oldest Christmas carols in the repertoire. 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen dates back to the 16th century, or perhaps earlier.

It makes a famous appearance in Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol', where it appears that the legendary grinch Ebeneezer Scrooge is not a fan. In fact he takes such offence that the carol singer on the other side of the door runs away ‘in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost’.

23. The Three Kings

Also known as 'Three Kings From Persian Lands Afar' (and not to be confused with 'We Three Kings'), this Christmas carol was created by the German composer Peter Cornelius. His original version was for singer plus piano. The English organist Ivor Atkins later arranged a choral accompaniment. 'The Three Kings' narrates the visit of the three Magi to the baby Jesus.

24. The Lamb

The visionary 18/19th-century poet poet and artist William Blake wrote 'The Lamb' in 1789. This disarming poem formed part of Blake's cycle Songs of Innocence. Blake's other memorable creations include the famous hymn, 'Jerusalem'.

And what of the beautiful, haunting music by which we now know Blake's poem? Well, many composers have ventured to set Blake's poem to music. Memorably, Vaughan Williams, in 1958. But it is Sir John Tavener's 1982 version that we sing (or hear) with such rapt attention today. First performed at that year's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, 'The Lamb' has since become one of Tavener's best known works.

25. Silent Night

One of the most familiar and best-loved Christmas carols, Silent Night was composed - suitably - on Christmas Eve, 1818. The music, that is: the lyrics had been written a few years earlier.

The story goes that churchgoers in the Austrian town of Oberndorf were battling through the snow to attend mass. Inside the church, meanwhile, two men were completing the final touches to a carol that they had written that same day.

Those men were Father Joseph Mohr, the assistant priest, and his friend Franz Xaver Gruber. And they were about to give 'Silent Night' its very first-ever performance.

26. Away in a Manger

'Away in a Manger' may be one of the simplest carols of all, whether to sing, play or learn - but none the worse for that. A particular favourite in primary schools, where many parents over the generations have found themselves shedding a proud tear or two in that 'I love thee lord Jesus' solo verse...

We named 'Away in the Manger' one of the easiest pieces of Christmas music to play on the piano and violin

27. I Wonder as I Wander

In North Carolina in 1933 a girl called Annie Morgan caught the ear of folklorist John Jacob Niles as she sang a garbled version of an Appalachian folksong.

Paying her to sing it again, Niles wrote what he heard down and filled in the gaps. Arranged by several composers since, 'I Wonder as I wander' has proved a draw for choirs the world over. It made our list of best little known Christmas carols.

28. This Little Babe

Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols for treble voices and harp had an unlikely genesis, written as it was on a Danish cargo ship crossing the Atlantic in the Middle of World War II - in the mid-summer! From it comes 'This Little Babe' in which the choir divides thrillingly into a rapid three-way canon over furious harp rhythms.

It should, reckoned Britten biographer Humphrey Carpenter, be sung with 'all the vigour of a pillow fight'.

29. Jesus Christ the Apple Tree

'Elizabeth Poston rediscovered this early American text, which recalls the world of the Shakers,' composer John Rutter tells us about this 1967 carol, 'and set it to music so simply that it's difficult to believe no one thought of her tune before (a perfect choral setting too, not a note too many). Spellbinding, magical, unique.' Here are the lyrics to 'Jesus Christ the Apple Tree'.

30. Wexford Carol

Dating right back to the 12th century, the 'Wexford Carol' comes from the town of Enniscorthy in, yes, County Wexford, Ireland.

Beginning 'Good people all, this Christmas time' it has become familiar to many today through John Rutter's beautiful arrangement of 1978, which begins with a melodious, if frighteningly exposed, baritone solo.

Greatest Christmas carols of all time: numbers 31 to 40

31. Gabriel's Message

Chortling choristers love it for the sheer amusement of singing 'Most highly flavoured gravy' in place of the intended words. For the rest of us, the gentle ebb and flow of this Basque traditional folk carol, which describes the story of Gabriel's annunciation to Mary, has a uniquely haunting quality.

Here are the lyrics to The angel Gabriel from heaven came' also known as 'Gabriel's Message'

32. Ding Dong Merrily on High

'Glo-o-o-o-o-o-orr, o-o-o-o-o-orr, o-o-o-o-o-orr, o-o-o-o-o-oria, Hosanna in Excelsis!' Need we say more?

Here are the full lyrics for Ding Dong Merrily on High', if you want to know what's sung between the glorias' and Hosannas'!

33. Jauchzet, Frohlocket

At around eight minutes long, the exultant opening chorus to Bach’s Christmas Oratorio unsurprisingly finds itself included in many a Christmas carol service. ‘Triumph, rejoicing’ beam the choir, and even if Bach’s originally intended brass and percussion aren’t to hand, the music is still guaranteed to provide an almighty festive uplift.

Here are 'Jauchzet, frohlocket' lyrics in both English and German

34. Adam Lay Ybounden

Written at very short notice in 1957 by Boris Ord, organist and choirmaster of King’s College, Cambridge, who then established his work for unaccompanied voice as a regular at the college’s Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. It is still frequently included in the service today.

35. 'Il est né le divin enfant'

A lovably earthly French traditional carol, in which we are joyfully invited to ‘Jouez hautbois’ (Play the oboe) and ‘Résonez musettes’ (Sound the bagpipe). Best enjoyed in its original language – though possibly not in Siouxsie and the Banshees’ dubious pop take on it, released as a single in 1982.

36. Gloria from Puer Natus Est

Thomas Tallis’s 1554 Puer Natus est mass may have been a case of wishful thinking – was the 16th-century composer reflecting Catholic hopes that Queen Mary I would bear an heir? The work was written for a grand occasion at St Paul’s, reflected by Tallis’s use of full vocal forces throughout and long, arching phrases that fill the outermost reaches of even the most spacious cathedral.

37. Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen

Composed in the early 17th century, Michael Praetorius’s Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen is one of those hymn tunes whose ‘tingle factor’ lies in the way that it instantly transports the listener back to a different era. English-speaking congregations are generally familiar with it in the guise of ‘A Great and Mighty Wonder'.

38. Illuminare Jerusalem

A modern gem. Leading Scottish composer Judith Weir wrote this short anthem for choir and organ for King’s College, Cambridge, where it was first performed in the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in 1985. Setting a medieval Scottish text, it has since enjoyed popularity both in the UK and beyond.

39 Quem Vidistis

Three of Poulenc’s four unaccompanied Christmas motets were voted into our top Christmas carols list. This one tells of the shepherds eagerly returning from the manger – the tentatively asked opening question ‘Quem vidistis?’ (Whom have you seen?) is met with the joyful answer ‘Natum vidimus’ (We have seen the Son).

40 Here is the little door

GK Chesterton’s beautifully crafted portrait of the Magi arriving at the stable is given a suitably intimate setting for unaccompanied voices by 20th-century English composer Herbert Howells. Overall, the mood is humble, peaceful and reflective, but woven in to the music are occasional references to the darker, more disturbing elements of the Christmas story. Stunning: and makes the list of our greatest Christmas carols of all time.

Greatest Christmas carols of all time: numbers 41 to 47

41. This is the truth from above

Vaughan Williams heard this exquisite carol sung by a folk singer, one Ella Leather in Herefordshire in 1909. His subsequent unaccompanied choral setting with its poignant modal harmonies recounts the creation of man and Jesus’s promise of redemption. VW later used it to open his Fantasia on Christmas Carols.

42. Joys Seven

The earliest known manuscript of this traditional folksong, dating from the 14th century, tells of just five joys enjoyed by Mary. Today, depending on where you are in the country, you may find versions with up to 12 joys, each listed in turn! In best King’s College, Cambridge tradition Stephen Cleobury has left his festive mark as director of music with a number of fine arrangements, this included.

43. I saw three ships

The nautical classic 'I saw three ships' failed to get many votes. Is it just that little bit too much like a sea-shanty? Whatever, it clearly didn’t float our choirmasters’ boat.

44. The Holly and the Ivy

Strangely the holly-based Sans Day carol won more votes from our choirmasters than this one. Perhaps it’s because the verse and chorus sound almost identical – over five rounds, this gets a bit repetitive.

Here are the lyrics to 'The Holly and The Ivy'

45. The 12 Days of Christmas

One of those festive things that, like turkey with all the trimmings, seems a great idea until you’ve got about halfway through. Once the swans have swum and the geese have laid, most of us, frankly, wish the maids would take their lords their leaping elsewhere.

Here are the lyrics to 'The 12 Days of Christmas'

46. While shepherds watched

For all those of us who once donned the compulsory dressing gown and tea-towel for the school nativity play, the low position of ‘While Shepherds Watched’ is hard to accept. OK. admittedly it is quite long, and doesn’t really do much over its six verses.

47. Past three o’clock

It seems that the prospect of heaving oneself out of bed pre-dawn and experiencing the wintry magic that is the ‘hinds o’er the pearly dewy lawn’ doesn’t appeal hugely to our voting choral director so this didn't score highly. Can’t say we blame them.

Inspired by London Waits George Ratcliffe Woodward wrote the carol in 1848.

Discover the lyrics to, and the story behind, your favourite Christmas carols here

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