"Ding-dong, ding-dong
Ding-dong, ding-dong
Hark how the bells
Sweet silver bells
All seem to say
Throw cares away"

Peter Wilhousky / Mykola Leontovich

This time of year can be joyous, especially for holiday music lovers. Christmas tunes flow out of stores and TV sets, and holiday concerts fill December's weekends. But one carol, "Carol of the Bells," may be based on a centuries-old doom and gloom song.

Tags: music, Christmas, Bells, Ukraine, Peter J. Wilhousky, mykola Leontovych, Kiev, NBC, Dies irae, dorian mode, Carol, John Williams