Paradise Carol
03:00 duration|Composed in 2024|Difficulty: Intermediate|First performed: December 2024
Commissioned by James Potter for the New Cambridge Singers.
My love of sacred minimalism and tone clusters can be found in this meditative carol.
Paradise Carol – sung by the New Cambridge Singers
Text
When Christ was born in Bethlehem,
’Twas night but seemed the noon of day:
The star whose light was pure and bright,
Shone with unwav’ring ray;
This one bright star, one glorious star
Guided the Eastern Magi from afar.
Then peace was spread throughout the land;
The lion fed beside the lamb;
And with the kid, to pastures led,
The spotted leopard fed:
In peace, in peace the calf and bear,
The wolf and lamb reposed together there.
As shepherds watched their flocks by night,
An angel brighter than the sun
Appeared in the air, and gently said,
And gently said, “Fear not, be not afraid,
Behold, behold, beneath your eyes,
Earth has become a smiling Paradise.”
Translated from the Neapolitan
