Book excerpt: "The purpose of this book is to place in the hands of those who enjoy singing Christmas carols and holiday songs an abundance of good material. This book contains 424 titles, most of which are well over a century old. These traditional classics have amongst them brilliant works by such famous composers as Mozart, Mendelsohn [sic], Bach, Haydn, and Handel. In no special classification of music has tradition persisted to a greater degree than in Christmas carols; and any collection that does not include the classics of Christmas song is not complete. So, in this book will be found the best examples of the ancient carols, together with more modern compositions embodying the same reverence, simplicity, and spirit of joy that thrill us in the older ones. They have been compiled from various sources including rare old books that have long been out of print."--Publisher's note.