Baby in an Ox's Stall - Sheet Music for Thomas Hewitt Jones

Composer's note

This Christmas, I was inspired to write a new carol, Baby in an ox's stall, which I hope captures the Christmas season in a joyful and optimistic new tune, and creates a similar emotion and tinge of nostalgia which appears in some of my favourite carols. I decided to write new words because I wanted them to fit the melody like a glove, and doing it this way I could actually write the melody first.

The tune of this carol begins with a soprano solo in the warm key of F major and it gradually flowers into full SATB textures with a soprano descant, modulating in later verses. It includes a couple of false relations which colour the melody at certain points in a slightly rebellious way. I've always had a bit of an inner schoolchild, and I think this comes through in this carol. I'm also a fan of Peter Warlock's music, and some of the harmonic alterations I have used perhaps owe a debt of gratitude to him in some way. With Baby in an ox’s stall I have created a carol which I hope can be enjoyed as something a little bit fun and spicy, like a Christmas lunch with all the trimmings.

Thomas Hewitt Jones, 2012

View the YouTube video for Baby in an Ox's Stall here