Program notes, texts, and translations

The hymn A solis ortus cardine comes from the English Sarum rite, a medieval modification of the Roman liturgy. The Sarum rite developed at Salisbury Cathedral in the 13th century, and spread to other areas in England, Scotland, Ireland, and even Portugal. The melodies of Sarum chant are in essence the same as their Gregorian chant counterparts, but they differ in certain details: Sarum contains melodic variants of the corresponding Gregorian chants, it tends to be more melismatic, and it shows subtle differences in notational practice and spelling.

A solis ortus cardine

A solis ortus cardine
Ad usque terrae limitem
Christum canamus principem
Natum Maria virgine.

Beatus auctor saeculi
Servile corpus induit
Ut carne carnem liberans
Ne perderet quod condidit.

Domus pudici pectoris
Templum repente fit dei
Intacta nesciens virum
Verbo creavit filium.

Enixa est puerpera
Quem Gabriel praedixerat
Quem matris alvo gestiens
Clausus Johannes senserat.

Feno iacere pertulit
Praesepe non abhorruit
Parvoque lacte pastus est
Per quem nec ales esurit.

Gaudet chorus caelestium
Et angeli canunt Deum
Palamque fit pastoribus
Pastor creator omnium.

-

From the point of the rising sun

From the point of the rising sun
To the furthest boundaries of earth
Let us sing of Christ our prince
Born of the Virgin Mary.

The blessed Creator of eternity
put on the body of a slave
that by the flesh freeing the flesh
he might not lose what he had made.

The home of this modest breast
Suddenly became the temple of God;
Untouched and not knowing man,
By a word alone she bore a son.

The woman brought forth a child
As Gabriel had foretold;
And leaping in his mother’s womb
John the Baptist knew his lord.

Brought to lie in the hay,
He did not shrink from the manger
And with a little milk he was fed,
He who would not let birds go hungry.

The heavenly chorus rejoices
And angels proclaim God’s birth,
And to the shepherds is shown
The shepherd and creator of all.

Green grow’th the holly is a 16th-century English carol by King Henry VIII of England, written in the style of a Christmas carol. King Henry’s song survives in a manuscript now in the British Library, copied in about 1511–1513 when he was in his early twenties. The original poem has no references to God or Christmas in it. Instead, the evergreen nature of the holly during the winter is a symbol of a faithful lover.

Green grow’th the holly

Green grow’th the holly, so doth the ivy;
though winter blasts blow ne’er so high, green grow’th the holly.
Gay are the flowers, hedgerows and ploughlands;
the days grow longer in the sun, soft fall the showers.
Fast fall the shed leaves, russet and yellow;
but resting buds are snug and safe where swung the dead leaves.

Nowel: Owt of your slepe aryse is an anonymous 15th-century British carol from the Selden manuscript (named for its collector, John Selden). The British composers and poets of the late Middle Ages wrote a great number of carols celebrating Mary and the virgin birth—this is a very lively and charming example. We perform it with the original Middle English pronunciation.

Nowel: Owt of your slepe aryse

Nowel! Nowel!
Owt of your slepe aryse and wake,
for God mankynd nowe hath ytake,
al of a maide without eny make;
of al women she bereth the belle. Nowel!

And thorwe a maide faire and wyse,
now man is made of ful grete pris;
now angelys knelen to mannys servys,
and at this tyme al this byfel. Nowel!

That euer was thralle, now ys he fre;
that euer was smalle, now grete is she;
now shal God deme bothe the and me
unto his blysse, yf we do wel. Nowel!

-

Nowell: Out of your sleep arise

Nowell! Nowell!
Out of your sleep arise and awaken,
for God has taken human form
from a maid without any equal:
of all women she is best. Nowell!

And through a fair and wise maiden
humankind is now brought to its full worth;
now the angels kneel in service of humanity;
and at Christmas time, all this took place. Nowell!

He who was once in bondage is now free;
she who was once humble is now great;
now God shall receive both you and me
into his bliss, if we are virtuous. Nowell!

Described in The Guardian as “one of today’s leading composers for the voice,” award-winning British composer Joanna Marsh has since 2007 divided her life between Dubai and the UK. Marsh’s life in the Middle East has led to many unique musical opportunities including writing an orchestral work to celebrate the building of the Burj Khalifa, a commission for the BBC Symphony Orchestra for the BBC Proms in Dubai, a fanfare for the Queen’s visit to Abu Dhabi, and musical arrangements for the Pope’s first visit to the Middle East in 2019. Marsh is a co-founder of ChoirFest Middle East in Dubai, an annual celebration of the region’s choral music scene that reached its tenth anniversary in March 2020. She is also founder of the Dubai Opera Festival Chorus, a large body of singers set up for the BBC Proms in Dubai that continues to perform various types of concerts across the UAE.

In Winter’s House is a setting of Jane Draycott’s poem that explores the transition from darkness to light, and the wonder of a child’s winter dream. The poem uses the language of fairy tales to create imagery of light and darkness. In Winter’s House was commissioned by Tenebrae and first performed by them at Wigmore Hall in 2019.

In Winter’s House

In winter’s house there’s a room
that’s pale and still as mist in a field
while outside in the street every gate’s shut firm,
every face as cold as steel.

In winter’s house there’s a bed
that is spread with frost and feathers, that gleams
in the half-light like rain in a disused yard
or a pearl in a choked-up stream.

In winter’s house there’s a child
asleep in a dream of light that grows out
of the dark, a flame you can hold in your hand
like a flower or a torch on the street.

In winter’s house there’s a tale
that’s told of a great chandelier in a garden,
of fire that catches and travels for miles,
of all gates and windows wide open.

In winter’s house there’s a flame
being dreamt by a child in the night,
in the small quiet house at the turn in the lane
where the darkness gives way to light.

— Poem by Jane Draycott

Roderick Williams is a celebrated Welsh-Jamaican composer and baritone who studied music and composition at Oxford University. His operas and his instrumental, vocal, and choral works have been commissioned and performed by such groups as The Sixteen, the BBC Singers, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Now winter nights evokes the longer nights of winter with the new covering of snow that comes down from the “airy towers” in the sky. This time of year brings people closer together with the joy of a warm fire, reading, and enjoying wine. Now winter nights was commissioned by VOCES8 and was premiered by them in December 2020.

Now winter nights

Now winter nights enlarge
The number of their hours;
And clouds their storms discharge
Upon the airy towers.
Let now the chimneys blaze
And cups o’erflow with wine,
Let well-turned words amaze
With harmony divine.
Now yellow waxen lights
Shall wait on honey love
While youthful revels, masques, and courtly sights
Sleep’s leaden spells remove.

This time doth well dispense
With lovers’ long discourse;
Much speech hath some defense,
Though beauty no remorse.
All do not all things well;
Some measures comely tread,
Some knotted riddles tell,
Some poems smoothly read.
The summer hath his joys,
And winter his delights;
Though love and all his pleasures are but toys,
They shorten tedious nights.

—Thomas Campion

Gabriel Jackson was born in Bermuda in 1962, and is best known for his vocal music, especially for his choice and setting of texts. While he cites Michael Tippett and Igor Stravinsky as influences, he is also drawn to soul and R&B. Aeterna caeli gloria is one of Jackson’s most challenging choral works, brilliantly virtuosic in its eight-part complexity while also speaking with immediacy to the listener. Jackson’s choral works are known for both their “quiet contemplation and ecstatic abandon,” both of which are on display in this work.

Aeterna caeli gloria

Aeterna caeli gloria,

beata spes mortalium,

celsi Parentis Unice,

castaeque proles Virginis:

Da dexteram surgentibus,

exsurgat et mens sobria,

flagrans et in laudem Dei

grates rependat debitas.

Ortus refulget lucifer,

ipsamque lucem nuntiat,

cadit caligo noctium,

lux sancta nos illuminet.

Sit, Christe, rex piissime,

tibi Patrique gloria

cum Spiritu Paraclito,

in sempiterna saecula. Amen.

-

O Christ, whose glory fills the heaven

O Christ, whose glory fills the heaven,

our only hope, in mercy given;

Child of a Virgin meek and pure;

Son of the Highest evermore:

Grant us Thine aid Thy praise to sing,

as opening days new duties bring;

that with the light our life may be

renewed and sanctified by Thee.

The morning star fades from the sky,

the sun breaks forth; night’s shadows fly:

O Thou, true Light, upon us shine:

our darkness turn to light divine.

All laud to God the Father be;

all praise, Eternal Son, to Thee;

all glory, as is ever meet,

to God the Holy Paraclete. Amen.

Peter Warlock is the pen name of the Anglo-Welsh composer Philip Heseltine, who was a youthful drinking partner of William Walton, and was also friends with D. H. Lawrence, Aldous Huxley, Sir Thomas Beecham, and Frederick Delius. In addition to his work as a composer, Warlock was also a music critic, editor, and transcriber of early music, making an enormous contribution to the revival of English medieval and Renaissance music. Benedicamus Domino clearly shows his love of early music.

Benedicamus Domino

Procedenti puero Eya, nobis annus est!

Virginis ex utero Gloria! Laude

Deus homo factus est et immortali

Sine viri semine Eya, nobis annus est!

Natus est de virgine Gloria! Laudes!

Deus homo factus est et immortalis.

Sine viri copia Eya, nobis annus est!

Natus est ex Maria Gloria! Laudes!

Deus homo factus est et immortalis.

In hoc festo determino Eya, nobis annus est!

Benedicamus Domino! Gloria! Laudes!

Deus homo factus est et immortalis.

-

Let us bless the Lord

A boy comes forth, Eya, this is our time,

From the womb of a virgin. Glory! Praise!

God is made human and immortal.

Without the seed of a man Eya, this is our time,

He is born of a virgin. Glory! Praise!

God is made human and immortal.

Without the means of a man, Eya, this is our time,

He is born of Mary Glory! Praise!

God is made human and immortal.

On this appointed feast, Eya, this is our time,

Let us bless the Lord. Glory! Praise!

God is made human and immortal.

Herbert Howells is remembered primarily for his Anglican church music—motets, anthems, canticles, organ works, and three major choral works with orchestra. His compositional style shows the influences of his contemporaries and predecessors in English music—Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sir Edward Elgar, and the modal counterpoint of the early Tudor composers. His carol-anthems, Here is the little door and A spotless Rose, are perfect miniatures, each capturing the essence of their individual poetry. A spotless Rose was dedicated to the composer’s mother.

Here is the little door

Here is the little door, lift up the latch, oh lift!

We need not wander more but enter with our gift;

Our gift of finest gold,

Gold that was never bought nor sold;

Myrrh to be strewn about his bed;

Incense in clouds about his head;

All for the Child who stirs not in his sleep.

But holy slumber holds with ass and sheep.

Bend low about his bed, for each he has a gift;

See how his eyes awake, lift up your hands, O lift!

For gold, he gives a keen-edged sword

(Defend with it Thy little Lord!),

For incense, smoke of battle red.

Myrrh for the honoured happy dead;

Gifts for his children, terrible and sweet,

Touched by such tiny hands and

Oh such tiny feet.

A spotless Rose

A spotless Rose is blowing

Sprung from a tender root,

Of ancient seers’ foreshowing,

Of Jesse promised fruit;

Its fairest bud unfolds to light

Amid the cold, cold winter

And in the dark midnight.

The Rose which I am singing,

Whereof Isaiah said,

Is from its sweet root springing

In Mary, purest Maid;

For through our God’s great love and might

The blessed babe she bare us

In a cold, cold winter’s night.

Kenneth Leighton was a British composer and pianist. His early compositions were influenced by English church music and by the work of English composers of the time, particularly Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, and William Walton. His best known works include Anglican church music, choral music, and piano music. He spent his last 18 years as Professor of Music at Edinburgh University. A Hymn of the Nativity is a setting of a few stanzas from the much longer poem by the 17th-century English metaphysical poet Richard Crashaw.

A hymn of the Nativity

We saw Thee in Thy balmy nest, young dawn of our eternal day;

We saw Thine eyes break from the East, and chase the trembling shades away:

We saw Thee, and we blest the sight,

We saw Thee by Thine own sweet light.

I saw th’obsequious seraphim their rosy fleece of fire bestow,

For well they now can spare their wings, since Heaven itself lies here below.

Well done, said I; but are you sure

Your down, so warm, will pass for pure?

No, no, your King’s not yet to seek where to repose His royal head;

See, see how soon His new-bloom’d cheek 'twixt mother’s breasts is gone to bed.

Sweet choice, said we, no way but so,

Not to lie cold, yet sleep in snow!

Welcome to our wond’ring sight! Eternity shut in a span!

Summer in winter! day in night! Heaven in earth! and God in a man!

Great little one, whose glorious birth

Lifts earth to Heaven, stoops Heaven to earth!

To Thee, meek Majesty, soft King of simple graces and sweet loves!

Each of us his lamb will bring, each his pair of silver doves!

At last, in fire of Thy fair eyes,

Ourselves become our own best sacrifice!

Sir William Walton began his musical life as a boy chorister at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and entered the university there at the age of 16. Though most of his output is orchestral, he wrote for the voice throughout his life, with works ranging from short carol settings to his immense oratorio Belshazzar’s Feast. Composed in 1960 to an anonymous 16th-century text, What cheer? shows Walton at his most rhythmic and exuberant.

What cheer?

What cheer? Good cheer!

Be merry and glad this good New Year!

‘Lift up your hearts and be glad

In Christ’s birth’, the angel bade,

Say each to other, if any be sad: ‘What cheer?’

Now the King of heav’n his birth hath take,

Joy and mirth we ought to make;
Say each to other, for his sake: ‘What cheer?’

I tell you all with heart so free:

Right welcome, welcome, ye be to me;

Be glad and merry, for charity!

What cheer? Good cheer!

Be merry and glad this good New Year!

British composer Rebecca Dale made history in 2018 when she became the first female composer to sign to Universal Music’s Decca Classics label, and the first woman to sign to Decca Publishing. Her debut album Requiem For My Mother, featuring her requiem and symphony, went to number one in the specialist Classical charts. Her music has been performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the London Mozart Players, the Scottish Festival Orchestra, VOCES8, and Tenebrae among others. She composes film music, writing for 20th Century Fox, Disney, Working Title, Sky, and the BBC. She is also a film orchestrator and conductor, recently leading orchestration for The Regime starring Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant, and the BBC’s Frozen Planet Live. Born in London, Dale began composing at a young age, completing her first musical at age 10 and piano concerto at 15. She studied at Oxford University and the National Film & Television School, and she likes odd socks.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening was commissioned by VOCES8. The text is the well-known poem by the American poet Robert Frost.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

he will not see me stopping here

to watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

to stop without a farmhouse near

between the woods and frozen lake

the darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

to ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

but I have promises to keep,

and miles to go before I sleep,

and miles to go before I sleep.

Lucy Walker is quickly establishing her place as one of Britain’s foremost emerging compositional voices. Recognized as one of Classic FM’s Rising Stars in 2024, Walker is gaining repute for her vibrant choral writing, described by Bob Chilcott as “full of light, and beautifully crafted.” In 2022, she was appointed Composer-in-Residence with St Martin’s Voices, the flagship professional vocal consort based at St-Martin-in-the-Fields. She has written for the BBC Singers, VOCES8, The Sixteen, and various UK Cathedral Choirs. Walker also works as a music educator, teaching at the University of Cambridge. She is passionate about making music—especially choral music—accessible and inclusive, and her compositions and teaching work aim to reflect this mission.

Of There is no rose of such virtue, the composer writes:
“It can be daunting setting an ancient and familiar text, especially when so many wonderful settings exist. I set out to create a simple and beautiful rendition of this timeless text, reflecting the unusual macaronic structure of the poetry closely, with a chromatically colourful musical refrain to highlight the Latin words. The verses, in contrast, are harmonically more settled, with a melody that is revisited in four guises throughout the carol: first, an atmospheric soprano solo, building to a rich full-choir conclusion. Soaring lines and intricate counterpoint decorate the melody throughout, echoing the ornate style of the poetry, and the wondrous message of the carol.”

There is no rose of such virtue

There is no rose of such virtue

as is the rose that bare Jesu; Alleluia.

For in this rose contained was

heav’n and earth in little space; Res miranda. [Wonderful thing.]
And by that rose we may well see

that he is God in persons three, Pari forma. [Equal in form.]

Now leave we all this worldly mirth,

and follow we this joyful birth; Transeamus. [Let us follow.]

Alleluia.

Philip Stopford is an English organist and composer best known for his choral works. Stopford began his musical career as a chorister at Westminster Abbey (1986–1990), then studied at Oxford. He has served as organist or Director of Music at Truro Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, and Christ Church in Bronxville, New York. He currently serves as President of the Leighton Buzzard Festival Singers.

Lully, lulla, lullay is a setting of the traditional carol. In a Twitter poll at Christmas 2021, Stopford’s setting was voted by the public as the winner of the World Cup of 21st Century Christmas Carols.

Lully, lulla, lullay

Lully, lulla, lully lulla

By by, lully lullay.

Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child

By by, lully lullay.

Oh sisters, too

How may we do?

For to preserve this day

This poor youngling, For whom we sing

By by, lully lullay?

Lully, lulla, lully lulla...

Herod, the king In his raging

Charged he hath this day

His men of might, In his own sight

All young children to slay.

Lully, lulla, lully lulla...

That woe is me, Poor child for thee!

And ever morn and day

For thy parting, Neither say nor sing.

By by, lully lullay.

Lully, lulla, lully lulla...

Kerensa Briggs is a pianist and harpist who began composing as a child. In 2014, she was the joint winner of the National Centre for Early Music Young Composers Award. In 2022, she began a two-year term as composer-in-residence with the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus in the US. Her music, which is inspired by the Anglican choral tradition, Gregorian chant, early music, and jazz, has been performed at St Paul’s Cathedral and the Sistine Chapel, and has been broadcast on BBC Radio and Classic FM by ensembles such as the Tallis Scholars and the BBC Singers. Her choral works have been described by BBC Music Magazine as “alluring and heartfelt.”

A tender shoot is a new setting of the 16th-century German poem. Commissioned by Cathedral Commissions of Wells Cathedral in 2020, the carol utilizes expressive harmony to support a memorable tune depicting Christ as the “tender shoot” that sprang from the root of Jesse (in the Bible, the father of King David and prophesied ancestor of the Messiah).

A tender shoot

A tender shoot hath started up from a root of grace.

As ancient seers imparted from Jesse’s holy race.

It blooms without a blight,

Blooms in the cold bleak winter,

Turning our darkness into light.

This shoot Isaiah taught us from Jesse’s root should spring;

The Virgin Mary brought us the branch of which we sing;

Our God of endless might,

Gave her this child to save us,

Thus turning darkness into light.

Peter Wishart studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris from 1947–1948 and taught at the Guildhall School of Music, Birmingham University, King’s College London, and Reading University. His compositions include several neoclassical operas, orchestral and chamber pieces, and a large amount of church music. Critics have commented on Wishart’s strong and individual lyricism, and his admiration for the music of Igor Stravinsky. Alleluya, a new work is come on hand is his most popular and enduring work.

Alleluya, a new work is come on hand

Alleluya, a new work is come on hand

through might and grace of Gode’s son

to save the lost of ev’ry land. Alleluya.

For now is free that erst was bound;

we may well sing Alleluya.

Now is fulfilled the prophecy

of David and of Jeremy

and also of Isaiah; Alleluya.

Sing we therefore both loud and high: Alleluya

Alleluya, this sweete song,

out of a green branch it sprung.

God send us the life that lasteth long! Alleluya.

Now joy and bliss be him among

that thus can sing Alleluya.

Wassailing songs are among the most popular of the secular holiday songs of Christmas. The term wassail is a contraction of the Middle English phrase waes haeil, meaning “be healthy.” The tradition of wassailers going door to door, singing and drinking to the health of those whom they visit, goes back to pre-Christian fertility rites wherein the villagers went through orchards at mid-winter, singing and shouting loudly to drive out evil spirits, and pouring cider on the roots of trees to encourage fruit. The Yorkshire Wassail is one of the earliest English carols to attain widespread popularity. Its origins are believed to date back to the 15th century.

Conductor, singer, and composer Ian Humphris inspired countless young musicians, either in person or via his many radio and TV appearances. From 1970, he co-presented Music Time for BBC TV, and went on to present and compose for Music Makers, Music Workshop, and Words and Pictures on BBC Radio. Everyone can sing a tune, was the premise, everyone can play something even if it is only a triangle—therefore music is for all of us. It was that philosophy that led Humphris to the London Centre for Young Musicians where, from 1978 until 2000, he was head of choral studies and singing. His commitment to the accessibility of music-making led him to donate large quantities of his own choral arrangements and compositions to their community and youth music library.

Yorkshire Wassail

Wassail! Wassail!

We’ve been a-while a-wandering amongst the leaves so green.

But now we come a wassailing so plainly to be seen.

For it’s Christmas time, when we travel far and near;

May God bless you and send you a happy New Year.

We are not daily beggars that beg from door to door;

We are your neighbors children, for we’ve been here before.

For it’s Christmas time, etc.

Call up the butler of this house, likewise the mistress too,

And all the little children that round the table go.

For it’s Christmas time, etc.

We’ve got a little purse; made of leathern ratchin skin;

We want a little of your money to line it well within.

For it’s Christmas time, etc.

Bring us out a table and spread it with a cloth,

Bring us out a mouldy cheese and some of your Christmas loaf.

For it’s Christmas time, etc.

Good master and good mistress, while you’re sitting by the fire,

Pray think of us poor children that’s wandered in the mire.

For it’s Christmas time, etc.

Wassail! Wassail!