O Holy Night

Jeremy Riddle sings Placide Cappeau's carol in something close to its full three-verse form, including the second verse many recordings skip entirely: "truly He taught us to love one another, His law is love and His gospel is peace."

"Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease" keeps Cappeau's original abolitionist language intact — the carol was written with these lines specifically, not added later — echoing Paul's declaration that Christ set believers free specifically so they wouldn't be re-entangled in slavery.

"Fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices, oh night divine, oh night when Christ was born" keeps the more familiar refrain intact between the less commonly sung verses.

"Christ is the Lord, oh praise His name forever, His power and glory evermore proclaim" closes the arrangement on repeated declaration rather than narrative, the carol's less-known social content and its most-loved refrain given roughly equal space in this particular recording.