Jazz, Contemporary & Traditional Christmas Carols, Holiday Favorites, and Songs

Beautiful, traditional Christmas carol standards, but with an interesting harmonic flair? Ballads in beautiful, four-part acappella harmony with dramatic and soaring peaks? Uptempo foot-tapping jazz-influenced classics? Simplified versions for sing-a-long purposes? Check, check, check. Our carols and songs run the gamut from all of the above - classical to swinging, dramatic & subtle to brassy & fun.

Almost every song and carol we have in our songbook was custom-arranged for our ensembles — which makes for a fresh and one-of-a-kind musical experience you simply can't get anywhere else. And, believe us, your guests will notice. Besides embodying the seasonal spirit, our arrangements are musically gratifying as well! The New York Holiday Singers' music is just a cut above any "caroling" you've ever heard.

What Makes Our Music Different?

Signature versions of classics & new favorites for a New York sound.

We love traditional Christmas carols. In fact, some of the familiar versions you know and love are in our songbook! But when we started the Singers, we knew we wanted it to be a group that updated many classics into something new and exciting — something that not only listeners would love, but would also be fulfilling for professional singers to perform.

And, the best way to compare the "standard" versions of songs to our exciting contemporary versions is by hearing them! We picked just two songs to give you a sense of what we do to enhance holiday favorites. Click each song version to compare.

And, we also perform more traditional version of many songs, as well!

The New York Holiday Singers Songbook

Carefully curated since our formation in 2011 and updated every year, the New York Holiday Singers songbook is a one-of-a-kind collection of custom, professional-level music arranged specifically for our group. Our library is large and varied, spanning about two hours and forty-five minutes of music. It's split across contemporary, jazz, and "standard"/traditional versions, full-length songs or shorter carols, and a variety of styles and keys.

Our Categories: Performance, Contemporary, and Caroling

When we started the Singers, we put our own unique, contemporary musical twists on favorites you knew and loved. We called these our Contemporary Book. But, we also had some familiar favorites with our own musical flair, which we called our Caroling Book.

As our songbook grew over the years, we added a number of even more challenging, exciting songs. These are songs that are more appropriate in scenarios where our Singers performing onstage or otherwise to an audience. They're not usually songs we recommend for typical caroling or sing-'n-stroll situations, and in 2022 we categorized these as our Performance Book.


Signature Arrangement	Performance Book	Sacred song	Happy (major key)
Available as animated video*	Contemporary Book	Secular Christmas song	Neutral key
Click for information	Caroling Book	Winter-themed song	Minor key

Song	Style	Theme	Mood	Length
Angels We Have Heard On High	Contemporary	Sacred	Major	2:26
Auld Lang Syne	Contemporary	Winter	Major	4:30
Away In A Manger	Caroling	Sacred	Major	2:11
Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabelle	Contemporary	Sacred	Major	2:52
Carol Of The Bells	Performance,Contemporary	Secular	Minor	3:59
Carol of the Bells (Traditional Version)	Caroling	Secular	Minor	1:15
Caroling, Caroling	Caroling	Secular	Major	2:01
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)	Contemporary	Secular	Major	2:34
Christmastime Is Here	Contemporary	Winter	Neutral	3:00
The Christmas Waltz	Performance,Contemporary	Secular	Major	2:53
Deck the Halls	Contemporary	Secular	Major	2:35
Deck The Halls (Traditional)	Caroling	Secular	Major	1:31
Ding! Dong! Merrily On High	Caroling	Sacred	Major	1:20
Do You Hear What I Hear?	Performance,Contemporary	Sacred	Major	2:32
Dreidel	Caroling	Winter	Major	1:20
Feliz Navidad	Contemporary	Secular	Major	1:45
The First Noel	Caroling	Sacred	Major	2:30
Frosty, The Snow Man	Contemporary	Secular	Major	3:00
Frosty, The Snow Man (Singalong Version)	Contemporary	Secular	Major	2:40
Gloucestershire Wassail	Caroling	Secular	Major	2:33
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen	Contemporary	Sacred	Minor	3:05
Good King Wenceslas	Caroling	Secular	Major	1:56
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas	Contemporary	Secular	Major	2:25
Here Comes Santa Claus	Contemporary	Secular	Major	1:42
Here We Come A-Wassailing	Caroling	Winter	Major	2:38
The Holly and the Ivy	Caroling	Winter	Major	1:40
(Have A) Holly Jolly Christmas	Contemporary	Secular	Major	2:12
I Saw Three Ships	Performance, Contemporary	Sacred	Major	3:41
It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year	Contemporary	Secular	Major	2:37
Jingle Bell Rock	Contemporary	Winter	Major	2:07
Jingle Bells	Performance,Contemporary	Winter	Major	3:23
Jingle Bells (Singalong Version)	Caroling	Winter	Major	1:30
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas	Caroling	Secular	Major	0:55
Let It Snow!	Contemporary	Winter	Major	2:18
The Little Drummer Boy	Caroling	Sacred	Major	2:47
Mi Y'Malel	Caroling	Sacred	Major	1:46
My Favorite Things	Performance, Contemporary	Secular	Neutral	3:20
O Christmas Tree	Caroling	Secular	Major	1:39
O Come All Ye Faithful	Caroling	Sacred	Major	2:27
O Holy Night	Performance,Contemporary	Sacred	Major	4:08
O Little Town Of Bethlehem	Caroling	Sacred	Major	1:29
Pure Imagination	Contemporary	Winter	Major	2:58
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer	Contemporary	Secular	Major	2:00
Runaway Rudolph	Performance,Contemporary	Secular	Minor	2:58
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town	Performance,Contemporary	Secular	Neutral	2:25
Silent Night	Performance,Contemporary	Sacred	Major	3:15
Silent Night (Traditional)	Contemporary	Sacred	Major	3:12
Silver Bells	Caroling	Secular	Major	2:29
Sleigh Ride (Funky)	Performance,Contemporary	Secular	Major	3:28
Sleigh Ride (Express)	Performance	Secular	Major	2:10
This Christmas	Performance,Contemporary	Secular	Major	3:11
Up On The House-Top	Performance,Contemporary	Secular	Major	1:37
We Wish You A Merry Christmas	Performance,Contemporary	Secular	Major	2:56
We Wish You A Merry Christmas (Singalong)	Caroling	Secular	Major	1:00
When You Wish Upon a Star	Contemporary	Winter	Major	2:13
White Christmas	Contemporary	Secular	Major	2:13
Winter Wonderland	Performance,Contemporary	Winter	Major	2:52

The best Christmas carols & holiday acappella songs, finely tuned.

Jazz, Contemporary & Traditional Christmas Carols, Holiday Favorites, and Songs

What Makes Our Music Different?

The New York Holiday Singers Songbook

Our Categories: Performance, Contemporary, and Caroling

Guide

* Animated Virtual Videos