Rocking Carol

Name: Rocking Carol
SKU: 153
Availability: InStock

$2.00

An a cappella setting of the beautiful Czech carol. After a gracious, wordless introduction, the piece opens with a quiet verse in harmony. A soloist delivers the text for the second verse while the other voices provide a “halo” with shapely accompanying lines. In the final verse, the voices begin intimately, like a low murmur to a newborn, before rising into a rich moment of fullness. The soloist returns for a brief final “cameo” and the piece closes wordlessly, as it began. Available as TTBB in English, SSA in English, SSA in Czech.

ISSUU perusal of SSA (English) is displayed below. TTBB and SSA (Czech) perusals available upon request. Please contact skpublishinginfo@gmail.com

Voicing

Clear

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Works released by SK Publishing are delivered as one-time downloadable source PDF(s) via email.

A licensed copy is required for each member performing in your choir / ensemble.

Description

Background

There is a story behind this piece!

For years the men of the Los Angeles Master Chorale have sung the rousing TTBB version of “Brightest and Best” on LAMC’s carols concerts. There were a couple of years when, as a counterpart to the men, the women sang my gentle, quiet setting of “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella.” However, when humorously couched by maestro Grant Gershon as “the battle of the sexes,” this competition didn’t seem like a fair match-up; the men got to sing a rowdy and rafter-raising carol while the women had to vie with a soft lullaby. So, I decided to level the playing field the next year by writing a rowdy women’s choir version of Pat-a-pan, and then — to balance things out — to write a soft, gentle carol for the men. I’ve always loved the winsome, “scalloped” phrases in this beautiful Czech carol, and thought it would turn into a perfect lullaby to be sung by a choir of loving fathers.

Little baby, softly sleep, do not stir,
We will lend a coat of fur.
We will rock you, rock you, rock you…
Cradled in our loving arms,
We will keep you from all harm.

Baby Jesus, little one, Mary’s son,
Sleep now, for the day is done.
We will rock you, rock you, rock you…
Cradled in our loving arms,
We will keep you from all harm.

Little baby, softly sleep, do not stir,
We will lend a coat of fur.
We will rock you, rock you, rock you…
Softly sleep now, safe and warm,
Nestled in our loving arms.

~translation adapted by S. Kirchner

Video performance is SSA arr.