I'd like to share with you an old recording of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.  It's an arrangement by Ovid Young and sung by Dean Wilder.

Now, I know it may not be in a style that many will find to their liking, but this is my favorite arrangement of Longfellow's poem. Let me tell you why. 

I admire the ability to hear how two different tunes can be combined into one song.  And Young did this beautifully. He begins and ends with the tune by John Baptiste Calkin, first used in 1872.  The middle section uses the tune written by Johnny Marks in 1956.

The two familiar tunes transition naturally from one to the other, and in so doing, perfectly capture the emotions of the words.  Words of sadness, discouragement, and yet, hope!

I'm also fascinated by the collaboration of four individuals, over the span of more than 100 years, each one separately contributing to the final work.

As I said, this is old - 1976!  So the quality isn't the best.  But I hope you'll take a quiet minute to listen.