I am unusual among Christians, perhaps, in that, I have no fondness for the traditional Victorian Christmas carols that are commonly sung around this time of year. I always hated them as a child and today I find the texts superficial, and the music saccharine and sentimental (although perhaps appropriate to the text). 

Here is a hymn that we have been singing at my church over Advent which I do like. You can click the link below to hear the audio file. 

Firstly, the key of the music is Byzantine Tone (Mode) 1 and sung with a drone. The combination of chant melody with a drone has a strong spiritual quality (I discuss why I think this is in a past post here: Using Drones As Harmony - A Simple Way to Add to the Spiritual Effect of Sacred Music). Second, the way in which this is sung, in natural voices, invites the congregation to join in. As it is repeated several times during the season (we sing twice each Sunday) they do have a chance to learn the melody and join in. This is a style that invites both men and women to sing along with melody or drone. Our pastor sends out this recording and the score out to the congregation in our weekly mailing. 

The Katavasia of Christmas: Follow the Link for the Score

Biblical typology: this hymn teaches us how the Old Testament points to the New, and the New fulfills the Old. These are images that should be in people's minds as they sing the hymn and ideally will be presented to them in the schema of art in the church building so that they know precisely where to look as they sing. In this hymn, we have, for example, the Tree of Jesse, Jonah and the 'Sea Monster', and the three children in the fiery furnace from the Book of Daniel.

This presentation of biblical typology is important in so many ways. Aside from deepening our faith by impressing upon us in a profound way the grand arc of the narrative of salvation history, it builds up in us the facility for connecting perceptible realities with the imperceptible truths they reveal. The triple effect of art, music, and words here, in harmony with our worship of God, will transform us. This is at the heart of 

In his little book Of Water and Spirit - A Liturgical Study of Baptism, Orthodox theologian, Alexander Schmemann describes (on page 152) the essence of Mystagogia as the harmonious teaching of scripture, doctrine, liturgy, and spirituality.  Mystagogia is instruction aimed at the deepening our grasp of the mysteries of the Faith and it must be taught so that we put it all into practice in the daily living of our faith. A liberal arts education on its own cannot do this. However comprehensive it may be in its content and however skillfully a curriculum is transmitted in the classroom, it isn't a Christian education unless the student is simultaneously formed as a Christian so that they integrate what they learn into their lives in a Christian way. This liturgical pedagogy will do this almost regardless of the intellectual capabilities of the person.

To come back to odious Christmas carols again, I would rather see their replacement of them with the traditional liturgical hymns and Propers presented in the context of the liturgy itself, rather than the concocted Lessons and Carols service that is so much more common and superficial in its effect. 

The words in the caption below are taken from the Katasavia itself.