Of all the holidays, the Christmas season has inspired more music than any other. This has been true for many centuries in many nations throughout the world. Much Christmas music is so well known that it has become part of our common folk heritage even though it may have had its roots in the liturgy of the church. During earlier centuries, carols were popular music written for all the holidays; but as the repertoire for Christmas became larger and larger, carols became associated only with the Christrmas season. Many of what we now call "carols" are in actuality hymns that originated in the Victorian period of the late 19th century. Included on this recording is a wide variety of carols, Christmas hymns, and seasonal part songs. Music for the great festival of Christmas knows no national boundaries; on this recording, The American Boychoir performs music from Germany, Sweden, Wales, and colonial and modern America, as well as choral works from medieval and modern England.
