Composer Bob Chilcott's The Shepherd's Carol was commissioned in 2000 for the televised Carols from King’s (a slightly lighter version of the august Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College, Cambridge) that is broadcast on the BBC on Christmas Day each year. Its text is a beautiful poem by Clive Sansom (1910-81) that narrates the experience of the shepherds, drawn by starlight to the baby Jesus. The lovely, poignant melody of folk-like simplicity is supported by languid and atmospheric harmonies. The effect is a sublime marriage of poetic imagery and music.
We stood on the hills, Lady,
Our day’s work done,
Watching the frosted meadows
That winter had won.
The evening was calm, Lady,
The air so still,
Silence more lovely than music
Folded the hill.
There was a star, Lady,
Shone in the night,
Larger than Venus it was
And bright, so bright.
Oh, a voice from the sky, Lady,
It seemed to us then
Telling of God being born
In the world of men.
And so we have come, Lady,
Our day’s work done,
Our love, our hopes, ourselves,
We give to your son.
The Shepherd’s Carol - The King's Singers
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