Corul Sound: "Shedrik, Shedrik (Carol of the Bells)"

According to a hasty YouTube search, no mainstream artists have done a cover of "Shedrik," otherwise known as "Carol of the Bells," in its original Ukranian. This is probably because the song is more of a choir piece as opposed to something Mariah Carey can take and explode from the inside. This random Ukranian Romanian choir's version is short and sweet and well-executed.

Learning the Ukranian was a right of passage in my high school choir, as we sang it every year for our holiday recital. We sang it as fast as humanly possible, because it sounded awesome that way, and because we were impatient teenagers. The way the middle swells, when the sopranos hit the top note near the end -- it gives me chills every time.

See you on Monday for the second half and thrilling conclusion of Daijams' 12 Days of Christmas!

This post is dedicated to my friend Meaghan Joyce, who just returned from a two-year stint in the Peace Corps in -- you guessed it -- the Ukraine. Welcome back to the States, Meaghan!

Susan Boyle: "Away in a Manger"

I'm usually wary of using broadcasts like this, from last year's Christmas Rockefeller Center broadcast, because more often than not the performers are lip-syncing. If YouTube commenters are to be believed -- and they are the last bastion of truth, so why wouldn't we trust them? -- then the little boy soloing at the beginning is probably lip-synching. But he's little, and asking a prepubescent boy to sing live for a broadcast to millions may be asking a bit much in this day of overwhelming criticism. But I trust Susan Boyle not to deceive me.

Since the world discovered her on the venerable Simon Cowell-judged Britain's Got Talent back in 2009, Susan Boyle has released an album every November, including a Christmas album titled The Gift in 2010. The entire thing is pure splendor. This is what angels sound like when they sing. Each note is delicate, smooth, perfectly plucked from the air. Even here, when a few of the notes wobble -- evidence that she's actually singing live for millions of people, the cajones that takes, sheesh -- she pushes the notes through to their soothing resolution. In a manger somewhere in heaven, Baby Jesus is being lulled to sleep to the voice of Susan Boyle.

And as far as a complete holiday experience is concerned, the Daijams' 12 Days of Christmas would not be complete without a boys' choir. Enjoy this classic and beautiful version of a classic and beautiful song.