God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (Orchestral Version) [HD]

God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen, also known as God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, and God Rest You Merry People All, is an English traditional Christmas carol. The melody is in the minor mode. It was published by William B. Sandys in 1833, although the author is unknown.
Like so many early Christmas songs, the carol was written as a direct reaction to the church music of the 15th century. However, in the earliest known publication of the carol, on a c. 1760 broadsheet, it is described as a "new Christmas carol", suggesting its origin is actually in the mid-18th century. It appeared again among "new carols for Christmas" in another 18th century source, a chapbook believed to be printed between 1780 and 1800.
It is referred to in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, 1843: "...at the first sound of 'God bless you, merry gentlemen! May nothing you dismay!', Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost."
This carol also is featured in the second movement of the Carol Symphony by Victor Hely-Hutchinson.
In 2010, the British recording artist Annie Lennox recorded a contemporary version of the song on her Christmas album A Christmas Cornucopia. A very different contemporary version of the song was published by the Canadian rock group The Barenaked Ladies on their 2004 Christmas album Barenaked for the Holidays. The song was also covered by Bright Eyes on A Christmas Album in 2002 and by the synthpop duo Erasure on their dance-oriented 1988 Christmas EP Crackers International.