CHRISTMAS SONGS COMPOSED BY ALEXANDER RYBAK

Alexander has always been performed Christmas songs since childhood, also been touring year by year together with other great artists around Norway on Christmas concert tours "Swinging Home For Christmas" (2010), "Vinterbilder" (2011) and  "Stille Natt Hellige Natt" (2012-2018).

But probably not everyone knows that he also wrote three Christmas songs himself - one of them is inspired by an old Norwegian song and two others composed with his own lyrics.

Here they are:

1. "Julevariasjoner" (Christmas variations)

is built over the Norwegian song "Vi tenner våre lykter" ("We light our lanterns") by Bjørn Rønningen, known from the TV series "Jul I Skomakergata" (Christmas in Shoemaker street). 

From a review of a concert in the concert tour "Swinging Home For Christmas" where he used to do this piece.
"This he demonstrated by his performance of his own composition, [...] Here he shows his virtuosity to the fullest. With a wide use of double grips, and other technical finesses, he carries the simple melody into several classical stylistic expressions."

And after one these concerts he told to a local paper that 

"he had a special relationship with the Christmas TV series "Christmas in Skomakergata", that it was one of the first things he experienced from a Norwegian Christmas celebration, when he moved here with his parents from Belarus."

Here you can see him perform it in his virtouso way:

The two other songs, "Tell Me When" and  "Presents" were released on his album "Christmas Tales" in November 2012.

2. "Tell Me When"

He wrote this song much before the album release, already in 2006. Watch the very young Alexander performing it in the TV-show "Kvelden før kvelden" in this video:

Lyrics:

3.  "Presents"

This song is featured by Didrik Solli-Tangen, you can listen to it here (official audio).

Lyrics: