Britten - A Ceremony of Carols (05+06) As Dew in Aprille + This Little Babe

Benjamin Britten's
A CEREMONY OF CAROLS
Opus 28, for 3-part treble chorus and harp
Sung by the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge
Harp: Frances Kelly
Conductor: Richard Marlow
1997

05. AS DEW IN APRILLE
06. THIS LITTLE BABE

*Note: the original composition did not provide a natural break between these two parts, and thus to preserve the original performance, these two parts are presented as one.

05. AS DEW IN APRILLE

I sing of a maiden that is makèles [matchless]:
King of all kings to her son she ches [chose]

He came also stille there his moder [mother] was,
As dew in Aprille [April] that falleth on the grass.

He came also stille to his moder's bour [bower],
As dew in Aprille that falleth on the flour.

He came also stille there his moder lay,
As dew in Aprille that falleth on the spray.

Moder and mayden was never none but she:
Well may such a lady Goddes moder be.

06. THIS LITTLE BABE

This little Babe so few days old,
Is come to rifle Satan's fold;
All hell doth at his presence quake,
Though he himself for cold do shake;
For in this weak unarmed wise
the gates of hell he will surprise.

With tears he fights and wins the field,
His naked breast stands for a shield;
His battering shot are babish cries,
His arrows looks of weeping eyes,
His martial ensigns Cold and Need,
And feeble Flesh his warrior's steed.

His camp is pitched in a stall,
His bulwark but a broken wall;
The crib his trench, haystalks his stakes;
Of shepherds he his muster makes;
And thus, as sure his foe to wound,
The angels' trumps alarum sound.

My soul, with Christ join thou in fight;
Stick to the tents that he hath pight [pitched].
Within his crib is surest ward;
This little Babe will be thy guard.
If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy,
Then flit not from this heavenly Boy.

Sources:
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Ceremony%20of%20Carols
http://www.californiaboyschoir.org/britten003.html

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Benjamin
• Britten
• ceremony
• of
• carols
• choir
• trinity
• college
• cambridge
• as
• dew
• in
• aprille
• april
• this
• little
• babe

[wftjet]

"This Little Babe" is so fun to sing Treble III on the third verse. The words are cool too: Baby Jesus kicks Satan's butt!!

[Schwabertinator]

The text of this little babe reminds me of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort when Harry was a baby.

[Wlcom2mylife]

We sang This Little Babe for my high school choir. We got a standing ovation and some people started crying. It was amazing.

[MidnightKraehe13]

My concert for the Ceremnoy of Carols is TODAY. I'm PUMPED <3

[littlemagmoo]

my chior we are singing it on monday cant wait

[LisePiltoft]

This recording got me persuading my choir teacher to learn As dew in Aprille! We've sung This little babe a few times, but As dew in Aprille is just the perfect transition! Now we'll sing both of them this Christmas, yay

[sevenbirdsonawire]

I really appreciate you posting these videos. :) This Little Babe is my favorite piece from the Ceremony of Carols. It's nice to listen to, and it's incredibly fun to sing. :)

[MsVina25]

what beautiful songs...exactly 2 songs that I need to sing for this time in my university choir concert...love them...

[emkopera]

This is all such beautiful music

[7EmmaLeighA7]

Last year we sang This Little Babe and Deo Gracias. It was the best music ever! (Because it was in English!)

[LisePiltoft]

I've sung This Little Babe a couple of times in my choir, and I enjoyed it! I really would like to sing As dew in Aprille this Christmas...

[plawushaudusi]

@Schwabertinator hahahaahahahahahahahahahahahha goooood one :DDDDDDDDDDDD