Gant, Andrew. The Carols of Christmas: A Celebration of the Surprising Stories Behind Your Favorite Holiday Songs. Nashville, TN: Nelson Books. 2015.

SUMMARY:
Not originally composed as Christmas carols, in fact, many not even containing words at the beginning, several Christmas tunes evolved from folk songs, street singing or plain music. Influenced by many nationalities, carols were first sung on the street rather than church but have found their way into the pews to the chagrin of some. Exploring many Christmas songs (O Little Town Of Bethlehem, O Come, All Ye Faithful, even Jingle Bells), author Andrew Gant, composer, choirmaster, church musician, university teacher and writer, shares his great depth of knowledge on the subject. Complete with illustrations, history and interesting tidbits on the carols, The Carols of Christmas is bound to make singing these songs more memorable and meaningful.

A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS:
With the Christmas season just around the corner and a bit of musical ability in my repertoire, I thought this would be a very interesting and relevant book…I was right. Obviously extremely proficient in his musical wisdom, Andrew Gant went above and beyond in his new book. I found most information to be useful, intriguing and readable; however, some of the information was beyond my curiosity. Definitely enlightening, after reading The Carols of Christmas, I will always reminisce as I carol at Christmas.

RATING:
4 (out of 5) pennies

*I received a complimentary copy of The Carols of Christmas from BookLook Bloggers for my honest review*