What Child Is This by Sarah Slean (Musical Advent Calendar, Day 7)

Listen here.

I have a confession to make: I am a bad Canadian and have not yet fully embraced Sarah Slean. On the other hand, some of her stuff is just incredible and it's possible I just haven't spent enough time exploring her repertoire. (I adore So Many Miles. I'm pretty sure Fresh Air played it to me; they're very good at slipping songs under my radar before I'm fully awake.)

I just realized something: I think Andy Barrie is to blame for putting me off. He called her "just delicious" once, which creeped me out. A one-off thing; most of the time he was perfectly uncreepy. Sorry Sarah!

I'm still a bit on the fence with this track, but it's growing on me; I kinda like the doom-laden sound and the fuzzy guitar. Also, I am ever a sucker for harmony vocals, so that helps. A live, piano-and-vocals-only version:

I'm quite impressed that the tune has stuck around for 400 years. Of course, it is lovely.

So, we're a week in! Anyone have any predictions? Complaints? Suggestions for next year?

Get the full musical Advent calendar here. | What is this?