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Music Notes #1103358 added December 10, 2025 at 7:30am
Restrictions: None
Day 8: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Loreena McKennit
My eighth Xmas choice is from Loreena McKennit, the artist who made my all-time favorite rendition of Good King Wenceslas. Her music is distinctly medieval and folkloric, and I've noticed her Christmas songs are generally more of the obscure sort.
Her studio version of God Rest Ye Merry is solemn, measured and eerie, with a touch of deep, mysterious sadness as she progresses with bass undertones, mournful fluting notes and wild, wandering violin in between verses, closing with wistful vocalizations. It seems as if she's considering Christ's future suffering for us. How much pain does it take to save us all from Satan's power when we have gone astray?
The live version, recorded at a church in Stratford, Ontario in 2021, is livelier, with a faster, more well-defined pace and less “wandering in the wilderness.” Somehow, even though we hear no other voices, knowing she's singing for and with a community is enough to strike a different, more hopeful note.
You decide which one you prefer… Enjoy 
Words: 165.
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