The Music of Christmas – Day 24: “Carol of the Bells”

“Carol of the Bells”
By David Foster

I first heard this song as part of a TV show of some sort. I caught only the last portion of it and never knew who the artist was.  I made it a mission to find out.  However this was years and years before Shazam was around, and I never heard it on the radio, so doing an internet search for “Carol of the Bells” was just an exercise in failure. Found many versions but not the one I needed.

I’d hear it very sporadically on the radio the next few years, but never heard who played it. And I’d always hear it in the car and never could call in to the station to ask.

Finally one year I found out — David Foster. And then I could find the album it was on and buy it so oh wait the album was out of print and there was no MP3 store of it and it wasn’t online anywhere. This song vexed me. 

Finally in today’s world we have easy access to this song, thank goodness. This is by far my favorite arrangement of “Carol of the Bells”. It’s a full symphonic sound that kicks in with great heavy beats, and an off-beat syncopation that really draws your attention to the song. The familiar melody is tied together with keyboard interludes, and I love songs that feature piano or keyboards.

The song ends with a triumphant flourish, and I can just imagine a conductor waving his arms wildly as we crescendo into the final bombastic chords.

My second favorite Christmas song. Took me a long time to obtain it, but I’m so glad I did.

Tomorrow — it’s Christmas! My most favorite Christmas song by my most favorite artist. If you know me at all, you know who that is..