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This Little Babe

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This Little Babe • 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.

A WITNESS OF CHRIST – The Road, Letters, and Faith of Paul

Full choral score available for download when you join Choirworks email list (opens new window).

Midi-audio/score demo:

Obbligato Trumpet Parts for Easter

Some arranging I did for my own congregation: Trumpet descants for Christ the Lord is Risen Today & He is Risen.

Christ the Lord is Risen Today & He is Risen – Descant for TrumpetsDownload

Surprised by Joy: Sowing the Seeds of Love

How do people experience joy in a troubled world? A world where political and media forces often benefit from keeping people anxious, angry, or unsettled? Read more …

The Future of Music Is Participation

Why the most meaningful musical experiences happen when ordinary people make music together

When I was growing up, music felt rare. You had to seek it out. Read more …

Let Your Heart Rejoice

Sheet music for voice and piano is available as a free download. Please let me know about performances via ryan@choirworks.com … You can read more about the song below.

Let Your Heart RejoiceDownload

A Song of Hope: Let Your Heart Rejoice … This song is inspired by 2 Nephi 9:52, particularly the last phrase: “Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.” I really love that last phrase, don’t ‘make’ your heart rejoice, but ‘let’ it, as if it just needs permission …

Lyrics:

Let your heart rejoice;
Let it have a voice;
Let it sing or shout;
Let it dance about;
Let your heart rejoice.
Let hope have a home,
Praying as you roam;
Thanks yielding in the night
For all His love and light,
Come let your heart rejoice.

Let the the glories and the miracles that hint at holy grace
Be centered in your thoughts as joy moves into your embrace,
And remember all the tender mercies you have witnessed from above,
While your hands are filled with action and your soul is found in love.

[Chorus] Let your heart rejoice …

Let your mind be calm, let go of all this tight anxiety,
And refresh the thought ‘the finch is fed by God for flying free.’
You are NOT living tomorrow or captive to yestermorn;
Let your life be in this moment, trusting Him, and be reborn.

[Chorus] Let your heart rejoice …

A Christmas Carol: The Musical Experience – Audio Drama Podcast

Gather around the fireplace or the tree and be the first to hear A CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE MUSICAL EXPERIENCE, an audio drama podcast with new original songs by M. Ryan Taylor at carol.fablelight.org

Starring, in alphabetical order:

  • Alyssa Aramaki as MRS. CRATCHIT
  • Amanda VandenAkker as THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST
  • Annalyce Chandler as CAROLINE and FRED’S WIFE
  • Ben Burnett as MERCHANT #2, YOUNG HUSBAND, and spoken FRED
  • Bryan Johnson as EBENEZER SCROOGE
  • Clara Hurtado Lee as BELLE
  • Daniel Sorokine as A YOUNG CAROLER, and PETER CRATCHIT
  • Gavin Ward as BOY, MESSENGER BOY, and YOUNG SCROOGE
  • Josh Oelrich as BOB CRATCHIT
  • M. Ryan Taylor as CHRISTMAS PRESENT, FEZZIWIG, GENTLEMAN, MERCHANT #1, and sung FRED
  • Melanee Phillips in the CHORUS
  • Michael Young as THE EXCHANGE CLERK, JACOB MARLEY, and OLD JOE
  • Rachel Carr as LITTLE FAN, THE SERVANT and TINY TIM
  • Taavi Taylor in the CHORUS
  • & Vivian Mathias as THE CHARWOMAN, and MRS. FEZZIWIG

Celebrate the “wrapping-up” and delivery of a two-year long labor of love for me and my family, first in adapting the novella to the script, writing the original songs, orchestrating and recording the music, recording audio vocal demos for the future cast, finding wonderful actors, recording them in studio, editing it all together and finally releasing it into the world. We hope you love Dickens’ classic as much as we do.

SCROOGE (He’s a Tight-Fisted Hand at the Grindstone): TTBB acapella

An alternate version of Scrooge (He’s a Tight-fisted Hand at the Grindstone) for TTBB Acapella quartet or men’s choir (may be performed with the same minus track as the solo version, if desired). Music is available to purchase here with a license to make as many copies as need for your choir or ensemble for $20 (the better deal) or at Sheet Music Plus for $2.99 a copy (minimum 10).

From A Christmas Carol: The Musical Experience, there is also a solo version of this song as well. Visit carol.fablelight.org for sheet music, minus tracks, and script.

A Christmas Carol: The Musical Experience

A scalable, interactive musical that can be performed either with a full cast, costumes and sets in traditional spaces, or by groups as small as 3-5 performers (playing multiple rolls) with minimal props in audience intimate settings (black box, libraries, dinner theatre, etc.). Visit carol.fablelight.org for sheet music, minus tracks, and script. If you’re interested in choral voicings/arrangements of any of the 15 original songs for your choir, please contact me: ryan@choirworks.com (I love working with choirs).

The Passionate Shepherd & The Nymph’s Reply

This cheeky quodlibet (or partner song) was crafted from Christopher Marlowe’s famous poem “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” by Sir Walter Raleigh. The music includes optional chords for Renaissance Guitar, which was tuned the same as a modern GCEA ukulele (an 8-string ukulele would be a passable substitute if no period instrument is available).

Get the sheet music on Sheet Music Plus:

Also available on Sheet Music Direct:

Glad Tidings (Romans 10:13-15)

A setting of a passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans:

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Romans 10:13-15, King James Version

Away in a Manger Instrumental Duets

Beautiful Savior, My Light for 4 Flutes

Beautiful Savior, My Light (Sheet Music Direct) : An arrangement of Beautiful Savior | Jesus Savior | The Lord is My Light for 4 standard flutes.

Carol of the Bells for Solo Desk Bells

Carol of the Bells, arranged for solo desk bells (A3 to E5), is available on Sheet Music Plus and Sheet Music Direct (includes diagram for my bell setup). Get your own set of Desk Bells on Amazon.

This arrangement may also be played by two-octave hand chimes, hand bells, tone bars, boomwhackers, etc. in an ensemble. Other solo instruments that might use this arrangement include vibraphone and carillon.

Let Us Give Thanks (Hymn for Thanksgiving)

Let Us Give Thanks : This SATB hymn may be sung acapella, or be doubled on piano, organ or string quartet. FREE.

He is Born (Il est né, le divin Enfant) for SATB Acapella

More Holiness Give Me for SATB Choir & Piano

Seven Shakespeare Songs for Medium Voice & Piano

The Reason for the Season
a Christmas Carol for 2-Part Choir or Vocal Duet

Seven Christmas Gifts
a Cycle of Carols for Voice & Piano

Three in Three for Christmas

This duet contains a medley of 3 traditional tunes in compound meter: Good Christian Men Rejoice, Tomorrow Shall be my Dancing Day, The Sussex Carol