One of many Christmas carol texts that Dudley-Smith has written, this has_x0014_ despite the overall lullaby topic_x0014_ a significant reference to the Passion and death of Christ in the third of the five stanzas. Feeley has imaginatively organized the verses in a musically symmetrical way (often understood as the representation of a cross), with unison first and final stanzas, SATB harmonization for stanzas 2 and 4, and a darker verse in the middle. Accompanied by piano and flute, the triple-meter setting uses a repeated dotted-note rocking figure typical of cradle songs. Though new, it will be immediately accessible to choir and congregation alike.
