This Little Babe

This Little Babe • TTBB Choir & Piano • Christmas • Intermediate A fiery new setting of Robert Southwell's beloved Christmas poem, This Little Babe captures the startling paradox at the heart of the text: the infant Christ comes to conquer not with earthly weapons, but through weakness, tears, and the vulnerability of a newborn child. Driving rhythms, energetic piano writing, and vivid choral textures bring Southwell's military imagery to life—the battlefield, the shield, the arrows, the trumpet's alarm—all set against the fragile image of the Christ child in the manger. The result is a Christmas piece that is urgent, dramatic, and powerful. This piece is well suited to Christmas concerts, worship services, and festival programs, especially for choirs looking for a fresh alternative to more familiar Christmas repertoire. Its compact length, rhythmic energy, and strong dramatic arc make it effective as an opener, closer, or high-impact centerpiece. FEATURES SATB and TTBB choral settings, plus Low, Medium, and High solo voice settings Choral settings may be performed with piano or a cappella Intermediate difficulty with mixed meter Energetic, rhythmically driven setting suitable for Christmas concerts, worship, and festival performance Approximately 2:06 COMPOSER’S NOTE When I was a young choral singer, I was deeply moved by Benjamin Britten's famous setting of This Little Babe from A Ceremony of Carols. I was particularly touched by the closing couplet: “If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy, Then flit not from this heavenly boy!” I understood these words to mean that we best “foil our foes” not by joyfully defeating them, but by showing them the joy that Christ offers to all, so that those who were once our foes might become our friends. For years, I wanted to sing this text as a soloist, but I was unaware of any solo settings, so I eventually wrote one myself. Once the solo setting was complete, it seemed natural to expand the music for male chorus—a kind of musical counterpart to the treble setting by Britten that had first inspired me. From there, I adapted the work once more for mixed SATB forces, and I was delighted with the result. I am pleased to offer This Little Babe in settings for low, medium, and high solo voice, as well as TTBB and SATB chorus, with the choral settings available either accompanied or a cappella. In homage to Britten's extraordinary and inspiring setting—a work I would never wish to supplant—I have deliberately not created an SSA version. I hope you enjoy this new musical interpretation of Southwell's remarkable Christmas poem. SHARE YOUR PERFORMANCE I would love to hear your choir perform This Little Babe! If you perform this piece, please consider sending me a recording, photos, a copy of your program, or a link to your performance at [email protected]. With your permission, I may share selected recordings, photos, or performance information through Choirworks' website and social media to help introduce your ensemble to other singers and conductors—and to help other choirs discover this piece. Thank you for giving This Little Babe a life beyond the page!