ADVANCED RECORDER WINTER CONCERT SONGS 2026

Hot cross buns, Merrily, Old Macdonald, Jingle Bells, Dreidel, Silent Night (African Noel w/chorus)

“I Have a Little Dreidel”^[(also known as “The Dreidel Song”^[1] or “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel”) is a children’s Hanukkah song in the English-speaking world that also exists in a Yiddish version called “Ikh bin a kleyner dreydl”, (איך בין אַ קלײנער דרײדל Lit: I am a little dreidel). The song is about making a dreidel, a four-sided spinning top, and playing with it.

James Lord Pierpont wrote “Jingle Bells”. He wrote it in 1857 in Boston, Massachusetts. It was not called “Jingle Bells” at first. It was originally titled “The One Horse Open Sleigh”. It was re-released as “Jingle Bells” two years later in 1859. The song does not mention Christmas at all. Pierpont wrote it for a Thanksgiving or winter celebration. The original verses were a bit wild for kids today—they told the story of friends racing horse-drawn sleighs through the snow and accidentally crashing into a snowbank. First Song in Space: On December 16, 1965, astronauts Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford on the Gemini 6 space mission played “Jingle Bells” from space using a harmonica and real sleigh bells.

Title: Silent Night

Composer: Franz Gruber (1818)

Time Period: Romantic Era

Style: Sacred Vocal Music

Instruments:  Various

Mood:  Calm

Opinion:  2 thumbs up

“The story is told of long ago, in a town on the German/Austrian border, when a beautiful new piece of Christmas music was being prepared to present to the people on Christmas Eve. However, a little mouse had wandered into the grand organ that was to be used to play the song. That naughty little mouse had chewed a hole right in the bellows, rendering the organ useless. There was panic as people wondered if their Christmas Eve would be ruined, but a solution was found and the piece was presented with a guitar. Now this song, Stille Nacht, is possibly the most recognized Christmas Carol and most certainly a favorite.”

(Stille Nacht was written as a poem by Joseph Mohr in 1816 and set to music by his friend Franz Gruber in 1818.  The English translation below comes directly from the original lyrics in German. It’s different from the version that’s commonly known in the English-speaking world as Silent Night.)

Stille Nacht! Heil’ge Nacht!

Alles schläft; einsam wacht

Nur das traute hoch heilige Paar.

Holder Knab’ im lockigen Haar,

Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!

Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!

Silent night, holy night,

All asleep; alone awake

Just that faithful, holy couple.

The nice boy with curly hair,

Sleeps in heavenly peace,

Sleeps in heavenly peace!