A free download of a Christmas carol and some thoughts on Christmas, colds, choirs and traditions.

I've a new song for you to download and it's a Christmas carol. This has taken me literally weeks to record. I've had the worst cold in ages. One of those colds that renders you so weak that even a stroll in the park sends your lungs into a rasping, coughing frenzy. I think working in a nursery has given me every imaginable germ known to inhabit the Austrian population...nicht schön. 

Anyhow, I'll have an end of year blog post out by next week for those of you stuffed full of Turkey and booze - and more turkey and booze. So, in the meantime, here's a version of the ancient Basque carol 'Gabriel's Message'. I hope you enjoy the song. 

As with my version of 'O, come, o, come Emmanuel' I released last year, this version is pretty dramatic and it's in good old E minor. I think I record these intense, almost dark/gothic versions of Christmas songs because I miss singing in Cathedral choirs at this time of the year. All that darkness and candlelight. I guess my usual self at Christmas is contrary to what many people feel, in that for most people December means one thing - Christmas stress before the big day. I find this time of the year incredibly melancholic and I can't help falling into bouts of nostalgia mulling over old memories of when I used to live in Sheffield. Christmas was so busy, but the music - the music was everything. The sheer emotional inspiration and release you can get from the ancient tradition of choral singing is immense. So I guess, when I sing now up here in my house on a hill in the relative wilderness of South East Austria, I'm trying to be that choir, but all on my own with guitar, dreaming of vast, high churches and soaring arches with 5 second reverb.

Enjoy the song and have a very merry Christmas folks. 

Louis x