Joy To The World is fun on mountain dulcimer. Good King Wenceslas is another one played around Christmas. The Friendly Beasts is another one.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Glad you liked them Ruth

"On Christmas Night" is better known as 'The Sussex Carol', here's Maddy Prior.

Plays really well in Noter/Drone.

Thanks for the suggestions, especially for the unfamiliar ones mentioned by John P. I don't know Il Est Nee or The Rebel Jesus either. I'll track those down.

Thanks for the suggestions, especially for the unfamiliar ones mentioned by John P. I don't know Il Est Nee or The Rebel Jesus either. I'll track those down.

john's right. Most of the "church" carols and Christmas songs are folk-based.

Hark is pretty nice if you take it a bit up tempo. But Jingle Bells, Chestnuts and that modern stuff just doesn't make it. Here's a list of Christmas music I just assembled, since I'm re-making my Giant List of Tunes I Know.

Away in a Manger

Il Est Nee

I Saw Three Ships

Hark The Herald Angels

We Three Kings of Orient Are

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Silent Night (originally performed as a single guitar accompaniment to a solo voice in 1818)

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Oh Holy Night

Oh Come All Ye Faithful

I also do Once in Royal David's City and Dona Nobis Pacem, but they are more "classical" music in form, not folk. I do the modernLittle Drummer Boy with a striker. My favorite modern Christmas song is The Rebel Jesus by Jackson Brown, and it plays well on dulcimer.

Hi Ruth,

I think a lot of the older carols were originally folk tunes, it's the more modern 'composed' ones that are 'churchified'.

One of my favourites for dulcimer is "On Christmas night, the angels Sing", sounds like a Morris tune to me if ever there was one.

'Sans Day' carol and 'Down in Yon Forest' are a couple of other good one.

Hello, I am hoping for suggestions of suitable Christmas music that is still sort of folk style.

I am having trouble imagining traditional carols like Hark the Herald Angels or even christmas songs like Jingle Bells and Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (wahtever it's called) played by an acoustic ensemble made up of dulcimer, guitar, autoharp, fiddle and doublebass. But maybe I am limiting myself?

updated by @ruth-lawrence: 06/11/15 07:41:56AM