Showing posts with label Mannheim Steamroller. Show all posts

This pretty little seasonal song called "Carol of the Bells" is really beautiful. As with a number of Christmas songs there are words, but the most inspiring versions are instrumental. My first memory of exposure to this song was Christmas advertising for 'Asti Spumanti' with champagne flutes clinking together on the downbeat. But I think that the holidays deserve more than bubbles and a pretty song. I believe that this song can lead us to remembering the reason that church bells clamber and announce the Savior's birth.

One reason that I prefer versions such as Chip Davis' Mannheim Steamroller project for this song is that it is the carol of the bells. So I say let the instruments do the talking on this one. Let them start gently, build to a massive crescendo, and then leave us with an all-snuggly feeling, like they do in TSO's version below: