Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity
This is a virtual orchestral setting of lines taken from John Milton's Ode, with Andrew MacIntosh as baritone soloist
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Story behind the song
The musical idea for this work germinates from the opening three notes of Sir Arthur Sullivan's tune for the Christmas carol "It came upon the midnight clear," which is implied but never stated throughout. With underlying intervals of fifth, fourth and third, they provide the basic ancient harmonic "horn notes" which are used to evoke the old order of the god Pan. The silly shepherds in their fields (represented by a galumphing, drunken rustic waltz) little realise that this old order is about to give way to, and be absorbed by the new light with the birth of Jesus (the central theme of these stanzas from Milton's ode). So also these ancient "horn notes" are also slowly transmuted throughout the piece, finally culminating in a blaze of light from the "bright harnessed angels." As they fade away at the end, we hear for the first and only time Sullivan's tune emerging with solo oboe and high strings, uniting us today with the ancient message from way back.
Lyrics
It was the winter wild
While the heaven-born child
All meanly wrapped in the rude manger lies;
Nature, in awe to Him,
Had doff'd her gaudy trim
With her great Master so to sympathise:
It was no season then for her
To wanton with the Sun, her lusty paramour.
The shepherds on the lawn
Or ere the point of dawn
Sat simply chatting in a rustic row;
Full little thought they than
That the mighty Pan
Was kindly come to live with them below;
Perhaps their loves, or else their sheep
Was all that did their silly thoughts so busy keep: -
But if such holy song
Enwrap our fancy long,
Time will run back, and fetch the age of gold;
And speckled Vanity
Will sicken soon and die,
And leprous Sin will melt from earthly mould;
And Hell itself will pass away
And leave her dolorous mansions to the peering day.
But see the Virgin blest
Hath laid her babe to rest:
Time is our tedious song should here have ending.
Heaven's youngest teem?d star
Hath fix?d her polish'd car
Her sleeping Lord with hand maid lamp attending.
And all about the courtly stable
Bright harnessed angels sit in order serviceable.
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