by Robert Southwell (1561? - 1595)
In freezing winter night
Language: English
Behold, a silly tender babe in freezing winter night, In homely manger trembling lies; alas, a piteous sight! The inns are full, no man will yield this little pilgrim bed. But forced he is with silly beasts, in crib to shroud his head. This stable is a Prince's court, this crib his chair of State; The beasts are parcel of his pomp, this wooden dish his plate. The persons in that poor attire his royal liveries wear; The Prince himself is come from Heav'n; this pomp is prizèd there. With joy approach o Christian wight, do homage to thy King; And highly praise his humble pomp, which he from Heav'n doth bring.
Authorship:
- by Robert Southwell (1561? - 1595) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ronald A. Beckett , "In freezing winter night
", 1989, published 2008 [voice and piano], in Songs and Arias, Volume 1 [text not verified]
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "In freezing winter night", op. 28 no. 8 (1942) [treble chorus, solo voices, and harp], from A Ceremony of Carols, no. 8. [text verified 1 time]
- by Mick Swithinbank (b. 1953), "In freezing winter night" [SSATB chorus a cappella] [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , title 1: "In frost’ger Winternacht", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title unknown, copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Tom White
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-01
Line count: 10
Word count: 112