David,

I really like this! There is a tendency, especially with Christmas carols, to reproduce versions we've grown up with (whether we realize it or not)

My wife was a Christmas music junkie. I think we have every Christmas song ever made, and your arrangement sounds fresh to my ears.

The harmonies in a song are often very predictable, but these weren't. I really liked the mood that the descending harmony introduced to the song.

The amount of reverb reminded me of the way Christmas hymns sound in a church during midnight mass on Christmas eve. As a kid the magnificence of a cathedral filled with music of praise embedded some great memories, and here you have stirred them up again. Thats what good music does.

And you're right about the cello... it is exactly the right instrument for that arrangement

two enthusiastic thumbs up!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0