O Holy Night: John Berry
Monday, December 8, 2008 at 09:44PM 
Without a doubt, O Holy Night is my favorite Christmas song. I know I am not alone in this. Tomorrow, if you're not too frazzled with Christmas preparations, make it a point to ask ten random people the title of their favorite Christmas song.
If the majority do not say O Holy Night, let me know and I'll say, Well I never!
Since I have more work to do before Christmas than I technically have days to do it all in, and I know I will not have time to compose proper blog posts, every couple of days I plan to share with you a stellar performance of O Holy Night.
He knows our need, to our weakness no stranger ...
You'll like them all I hope, but don't miss the final one, which I promise to post very early on Christmas Eve.
To begin, here is my all-time favorite video rendition of O Holy Night, sung by the great John Berry. I hope you enjoy ... and listen especially close to the part that goes like this:
Led by the light of a faith serenely beaming/With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand/So led by the light of a star sweetly gleaming/Here came the wise men from the Orient land ...
The King of Kings lay in lowly manger/With all our trials, born to be our friend/He knows our need, to our weakness no stranger ...
Behold your King/Before the lowly bend/Behold your King/Your King, before Him bend.
Merry Christmas!
Reader Comments (16)
I love that song too. He sings it very well!
Great song, although I must admit, O Come, O Come Emmanuel is my favorite. ;-)
Dare I take a stab and suggest that Josh Groban will likely be one of your examples? ;-)
@ Mari ... I'm glad you liked it! I think JB sings that song in a very special way.
@ Angi ... LOL! You know me so well! Just wait until Christmas Eve ... and yes, your favorite Christmas song is a most beautiful one!
I love "O Holy Night!" Definitely my favorite... closely followed by Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You." I'm such a girl.
Can I just say that I'm SUPER impressed that you're 90% done with your Christmas shopping? I am, well... ZERO percent done. What can I say, "Procrastinator" is my middle name.
@ Allison ... it is adorable the way Mariah sings that song! I guess I should have modified "favorite" to "favorite sacred" Christmas song! And you know, if I had not been so busy with work this fall, I don't think I'd have my Christmas shopping nearly done. All I can say is, the Lord was with me every time I walked into a store with the little time I had, and the decisions just fell into my lap! I'm very thankful ... now I just hope everything fits ... LOL! Keep the receipts, is my motto.
Oh, I LOVE THAT SONG! I bought a JG CD the other day and even though I like him, I was not impressed with the CD. It was a Christmas CD and it was from a concert he had done. He kept moving his head away from the microphone and the background orchestra was not loud enough at certain times. Complain, complain, complain. Hahahahahaha!
Cheryl, I think your complaint is a valid one! As a rule I prefer studio recordings to live ones. And although I am not familiar with the Josh Groban CD you are unhappy with, I know you will not be disappointed with his Christmas CD that came out last year, entitled Noel. I highly recommend it!
When I was Christmas shopping recently, "O Holy Night" came on and the clerk began singing along with it, and that said that it was her favorite Christmas carol. So you can add that to your informal survey, lol. It is a beautiful song, no doubt about that!
Absolutely lovely! It is one of my favs, but I've always had a soft spot for Silent Night too. I enjoy many Christmas songs. It's just that time of year!
@ Tracie ... I am not surprised. There is just something about both the words and the melody, and the way they go together!
@ Keli ... I too love Silent Night ... as a child it was my very favorite Christmas Carol! It is sooo lovely.
You haven't heard O Holy Night until you've heard me sing it.
Coincidentally, once you've heard me sing it you will never be able to hear anything else. You'll be deaf. My singing voice is that bad.
Kev, I doubt it's that bad. At least I hope it isn't! But I do believe you are underestimating yourself yet again! You're awesome, remember? And even if you cannot sing for your supper, there is still SKOS! Compensation enough for what you may perceive to be a subpar singing voice!
Noel is the CD I am talking about. Some of the songs are louder than others and the instruments were not properly miked. Making CD's must have been an after thought.
I came very close to returning it, but didn't want to hassle them. I cannot recommend it.The quality in the mix just isn't there.
Cheryl, I'm confused. Noel is an entirely studio-produced album with no live numbers; it isn't a recording of a concert. If I am not mistaken it's the only Christmas album Josh has ever done, and I have listened to it dozens of times. There are no live tracks on my CD. I think you should consider returning it because maybe you got a bad one! Whoever sold it to you should make good on it.
Incidentally, Noel was the largest-selling CD of 2007 ... not just Christmas music, but of all CD's! We have enjoyed our copy so much. There is, however, one track we don't care for, and that is The First Noel, a duet with Faith Hill. Her voice seems very strident and the arrangement is too boisterous for my taste! But we enjoy all the others, and especially O Holy Night.
my favorite also....I also like Michael Card's " emmanuel"
Two of my favorite singers for O HOLY NIGHT are Aaron Neville and Celine Dion
I also have no idea why I am on the computer since if I worked from now until the 25th 24/7, I could not do all that I have to do..... next year, I am starting in October. Have a blessed season.
Hey Jennifer, I am just now getting back here. The front of the CD says Josh Groban NOEL. As soon as I have some time, I will pop this in and listen again. I had it in the van and I remember having to turn up the volume then turn it down as the songs changed. I think I have a lemon. I hope I still have my receipt. Thanks for your input.