by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock
Language: English
Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock. "Now they are all on their knees," An elder said as we sat in a flock By the embers in hearthside ease. We pictured the meek mild creatures where They dwelt in their strawy pen, Nor did it occur to one of us there To doubt they were kneeling then. So fair a fancy few would weave In these years! Yet I feel, If someone said on Christmas Eve, "Come; see the oxen kneel, In the lonely barton by yonder coomb Our childhood used to know," I should go with him in the gloom, Hoping it might be so.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesFirst published in The Times, December 1915
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "The Oxen", first published 1915 [author's text checked 1 time 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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The Oxen", published 1968 [ SA chorus and piano ], carol [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leslie Cochran , "The Oxen", published 1927 [ voice and piano ], carol [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edward Joseph Dent (1876 - 1957), "The Oxen" [ voice and piano ], first published in Sackbut, Dec. 1920 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jonathan Elkus (b. 1931), "The Oxen" [ high voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "The Oxen", op. 2 no. 3 (1921-1922), published 1925 [ baritone and string quartet ], from By Footpath and Stile, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert James Berkeley Fleming (1921 - 1976), "The Oxen", published 1945 [ medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960), "The Oxen", 1951, published 1952 [ voice, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Derek Holman (b. 1931), "Christmas Eve", 2009, first performed 2009 [ voice and piano ], from The Four Seasons, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by William Reginald Pasfield (1909 - 1994), "The Oxen", published 1963 [ unison chorus, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878 - 1937), "The Oxen", published 1919 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Rawsthorne (1905 - 1971), "The Oxen", published <<1967 [ mixed chorus a cappella ], carol [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "The Oxen", op. 52 (1944) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "The Oxen", op. 628 (1962) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "The Oxen", published 1954 [ soprano or mezzo-soprano, tenor, and baritone soli, boys' chorus, mixed chorus, and orchestra ], from cantata Hodie, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Williams , "The Oxen", published 1954 [ unison chorus, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard K. Winslow (b. 1918), "The Oxen", published 1958 [ satb chorus and piano or organ ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 106