I bet if you surveyed nearly all of your friends and family and asked them to name their favorite Christmas carols, it’s highly unlikely that “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” would rate even a single mention. Still, the bloom is far from being off this late-16th century German hymn, as it continues to pop up on today’s newer yuletide offerings. And when treated with the right degree of reverence, the resulting “Rose” really can be quite lovely.

This year, “Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming” made the cut for Sting’s new holiday album, If On A Winter’s Night, as well as Tori Amos’ Midwinter Graces (detect a theme?), but it’s a relatively unknown singer-songwriter, Mikky Ekko, who deserves notice for his ethereal, moving take on the classic carol. Born in Mississippi and now living in Nashville, Ekko has been hanging and touring with the Ten Out Of Tenn artist collective, with his music earning several spot-on comparisons to the late Jeff Buckley.

In Ekko’s hands, “Lo, How A Rose E’re Blooming” sounds absolutely gorgeous, as if the song was recorded in some open-air cathedral tucked away deep within the snowy woods. I can safely say it’s the first and only time a song from 1599 has earned InfiniteRepeat™ status on my iPod. Even better, Ekko’s nearly five-minute opus is absolutely free and most definitely worth passing along.

Grab a free download of Mikky Ekko – “Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming” via Last.fm (the link is on the upper right corner of the page).