The snow lay on the ground

This carol was commissioned by Richard Bristow for the choir of Wimbledon High, A Cappella, and first performed at Wimbledon’s Sacred Heart Church on Wednesday 17th December 2014. The snow lay on the ground hosts such a jolly traditional text, one that inspires a rich variety of time signatures and jaunty rhythms to portray humanity’s joyful participation in the angels’ celebratory dance. Essentially a strophic carol incorporating various time changes and harmonic embellishments, there is a constantly playful dialogue between the choir and organist, evoking both the excitement and solemnity of Christ’s birth. The work is concluded with an ‘Amen’ to underline the narrator’s prayer that we ‘join the heavenly host to praise the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.’