"Christmas Canon" is a Christmas song by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an American progressive metal band founded in 1993 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. Since then, TSO sold nearly 8...

 from their 1998 album The Christmas Attic

The Christmas Attic

The Christmas Attic is the second album by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a rock opera, and the second installment of their Christmas Trilogy, the sequel to Christmas Eve and Other Stories and the prequel to The Lost Christmas Eve...

. It often ranks on the iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 Top 100 Chart at Christmas time.

The song is set to the tune of Johann Pachelbel

Johann Pachelbel

Johann Pachelbel was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher, who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most...

's Canon in D Major with new lyrics added. The style is a departure from TSO's usual rock arrangements, instead being performed in the style of a children's choir with light accompaniment from piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 and strings

Bowed string instrument

Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound.-Violin family:...

. The group's rock version is entitled "Christmas Canon Rock", which debuted on their 2004 album The Lost Christmas Eve

The Lost Christmas Eve

-References to other media:"Back to a Reason " is a sequel to the Savatage song "Back to a Reason", on their 2001 release Poets and Madmen....

.

Singles

Singles	Album	released
Christmas In The Air	The Christmas Attic The Christmas Attic The Christmas Attic is the second album by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a rock opera, and the second installment of their Christmas Trilogy, the sequel to Christmas Eve and Other Stories and the prequel to The Lost Christmas Eve...	2002

As of December 2010, the song serves as the third best-selling holiday song in digital history with 701,000 downloads.

External links

• Christmas Canon performance video