• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
(Treasa Matysek/Special to the Review)

Great Christmas carols you may not have heard

December 24, 2020
By George P. Matysek Jr.
Catholic Review
Filed Under: #IamCatholic, Arts & Culture, Christmas, Commentary, Feature, The Narthex

Everyone loves “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World.” But there are plenty of other Christmas carols from across the globe that are just as beautiful, if not always as familiar. Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order. Write to me and tell me about yours!

Huron Carol

St. John de Brébeuf, a 17th-century French Jesuit missionary to the indigenous peoples of New France, wrote the lyrics to this unforgettable carol in the early 1640s. A master linguist, the priest composed the carol in the native language of the Huron (Wendat) people and set it to a version of an old French tune.

St. John Brébeuf and other Jesuits, known as “Black Robes” to the American Indians, would later be martyred along with many of the native people they helped to bring into the Catholic Church.

A version of Father Brébeuf’s carol was written in English by Jesse Edgar Middleton in the 1920s and remains popular in Canada today. It adapts the Christmas story to the Native American culture — substituting “chieftains” for wise men and a “ragged robe of rabbit skin” for swaddling clothes.

Whenever I hear this song, I picture Father Brébeuf and the early Huron faithful gathered together in North American forests to celebrate the birth of Christ in a way that embraces both their cultures. It’s a romanticized view, I know, but one that strives for the ideal of what Christmas should be about.

The following rendition of the “Huron Carol” by Heather Dale is the very best I’ve heard. It includes verses in Wendat, French and English and is undergirded by a steady drumbeat.

Polish Kolendy

As someone raised in a home that celebrated its Polish and Czech heritage, Christmas to me is incomplete without making pierogi and kolacky from scratch and listening to kolendy — Polish Christmas carols.

Kolendy have sweet, simple melodies that are both sentimental and incredibly charming. They often take the form of endearing lullabyes. For the last 50 years, Baltimore’s Polish-American community has led a procession of carolers through the streets of East Baltimore — singing traditional kolendy, along with other Christmas favorites.

When my Polish-speaking mother was nearing the end of her life after a battle with cancer, I made sure we piped kolendy into her room at Christmastime (even when she was not conscious) in the hopes it would trigger some fond memories growing up as the daughter of Polish immigrants.

As a parish organist for nearly three decades from the time I was 14 until I started having children of my own, I often used kolendy as meditation pieces and always played the lively “Dzisiaj w Betlejem” — “In Bethlehem” — as the Christmas postlude. Some of the wonderful cantors I worked with at St. Clare in Essex, Our Lady of Hope in Dundalk and the now-closed St. Michael in Fells Point and Holy Redeemer in Highlandtown, sang a few of these carols in Polish or others like them in Spanish, German, French and more.

Below, “Dzisiaj w Betlejem” tells of the great events of Christ’s birth, “Gdy Sie Chrystus Rodzi” represents the heavenly chorus of angels and “W żłobie leży” tells of worshipping the newborn king. Even if you are like me and don’t speak Polish, you’ll still be inspired by this great music.

French carols

French Christmas carols are lively and tend to stay with you long after you hear them. One of the most universally loved of these is “Angels We Have Heard on High.” Two of my favorites are “Il Est Ne, le Divin Enfant” or “He is Born, the Divine Child” (written in the 19th century ) and “Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle” or “Bring a Torch, Jeaneatte Isabella” (written in the 16th century). I remember listening to the latter on my parents’ old stereo as a child. I came across “He is Born, the Divine Child” later and was taken with its joyful spirit. The tune is believed to come from an old Norman hunting song. I hear it on the radio a lot these days as it seems to be gaining a wider following.

Good King Wenceslaus

This carol is probably more familiar than most of the others I’ve mentioned. I’m including it because it’s a personal favorite. It tells the story of a 10th-century Bohemian duke who shows love and care for the poor. John M. Neale, an Anglican priest, wrote the lyrics in 1853, intending to encourage English children to show generosity on St. Stephen’s Day. The words are set to the tune of a 13th-century spring carol. My wife and I recently gave our children a gorgeously illustrated book based on this song that was published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. We love that they never seem to get tired of hearing us sing it to them.

Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming

Sung both during Advent and Christmas, this haunting German carol dates to the early 17th century. Although it can be difficult to sing, it is an uplifting piece that deserves more attention. Alex Stephens recorded himself singing all four parts of a beautiful arrangement of the song below.

Come, All Ye Shepherds!

This is probably one of the most popular Czech Christmas carols. Taken at a quick pace, it can be quite a tongue-twister. Last Christmas season, I often sang this one as the bedtime song for my children. At Christmas Day Mass at St. Pius X in Rodgers Forge, the organist played this as a prelude and I was happily surprised when my three-year-old tapped me on the shoulder and excitedly announced, “Daddy, they are playing the Shepherd Song!”

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

Also see

RADIO INTERVIEW: The Holy Family

Continue contemplating the mystery of Christmas, pope urges

Priest weathers Christmas blizzard on fireboat celebrating Mass for two

Parishioners at Ss. Philip and James weather cold snap with Christmas spirit

Ukrainian archbishop urges people to celebrate Christmas even amid war

Jesus’ birth is not ‘fairy tale,’ but call to live the Gospel, pope says

Copyright © 2020 Catholic Review Media

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

George P. Matysek Jr.

George Matysek, a member of the Catholic Review staff since 1997, has served as managing editor since September 2021. He previously served as a writer, senior correspondent, assistant managing editor and digital editor of the Catholic Review and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

In his current role, he oversees news coverage of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and is a host of Catholic Review Radio.

George has won more than 100 national and regional journalism and broadcasting awards from the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, the Catholic Press Association, the Associated Church Press and National Right to Life. He has reported from Guyana, Guatemala, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.

A native Baltimorean, George is a proud graduate of Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School in Essex. He holds a bachelor's degree from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore and a master's degree from UMBC.

George, his wife and five children live in Rodgers Forge. He is a parishioner of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland.

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

An invitation from God

‘Annunciation’: Salvation and the words of the air

Fully entering into the Triduum

Question Corner: Jesus became man so I could become God?

The mental health crisis crosses all boundaries and ages

| Recent Local News |

Catholic Charities’ William J. McCarthy Jr. named Loyola’s Business Leader of the Year

Sister Joan Cooper, O.S.F., dies at 94

Pathfinders: Five Archdiocese of Baltimore women who made history

Sister Elizabeth Ellen Kane, O.S.F., dies at 81

RADIO INTERVIEW: Dining with the Saints

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Pope, World Council of Churches’ leaders talk about war, divisions
  • Pre-Vatican II Mass was formed by ‘clericalization,’ says papal preacher
  • Memorial to modern Christian martyrs opens in Rome
  • Human composting, alkaline hydrolysis not acceptable for burial, say U.S. bishops
  • Pope advances sainthood causes of six candidates
  • Retired Milwaukee priest barred from hearing confessions over support of Delaware ‘repeal of seal’ law
  • Suspect pleads not guilty in murder of LA Auxiliary Bishop O’Connell
  • Avoid polarizing debate, promote healthy scientific discussion, pope says
  • CRS, USAID help Ethiopia ‘at a time of great need’ amid devastating drought

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED