Thread by @SandmanGrant

Here's my 10 song 2020 Christmas playlist.

1. Joy to the World - by my favourite 2020 lockdown discovery, @thepetersens. Even if you're not sold on banjo, mandolin & dobro, their harmonies will lift your spirits,
And your toes will be tapping!

2. O Come, All You Unfaithful - a beautiful new 2020 Christmas carol from @SovGraceMusic. It inverts (without disrespecting) the first line of the more famous carol. In so doing, it offers Christmas hope to the weak and unstable, bitter and broken.

3. God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen - by @thepetersens
again, with bluegrass tidings of comfort and joy.

4. He Shall Reign Forevermore (Live)... Chris Tomlin riffs off a couple of lines in Handel’s famous ‘The Messiah’, with a couple of great lines himself.

5. Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendour - a beautiful French tune performed 'unplugged' by a couple of cathedral clergy; written by Frank Houghton, once director of China Inland Mission (founded by Hudson Taylor). It reflects on 2 Corinthians 8:9.

6. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - a re-working of an old carol, full of Old Testament resonances, with vv3-5 being fresh from Steve Cook and Bob Kauflin of @SovGraceMusic

7. Jesus was Converted - perhaps a slightly left-field inclusion on a Christmas playlist, but the chorus of @colinbuchanan's beautiful song reflects on the continuing 'forever' meaning of Christ’s incarnation.

8. What Child is This? Here, the only non-family member of @thepetersens leads the singing. Once again, beautiful, haunting harmonies.

9. Saviour In A Manger - a recent original from an Aussie in England, Alanna Glover, with the @_emumusic mob. Gentle, with some beautiful, understated cello!

10. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. The choir from King’s College Cambridge wraps up my Christmas playlist with my all-time favourite Christmas carol.

@threadreaderapp please unroll

And just for a contrast in genre, here is a fun jazz version of 'Hark!' via Newcastle band, Zenith Funk Pop (HT. Assoc. Prof. @NeilJamesFoster!)