O’ Candlelights Came Down

O’ candlelights came down
From memories fleet and grey
‘Midst the angels’ calls from heav’ns
Laid upon the earth and said:

“O’ ye shepherds! Seek the manger
To the Christ-head, where He lays
Down from stars, before the gentiles
Go, ye shepherds, to Bethlehem!

O’ Lamb of Light, the Highest!
May you ne’er softly cry nor weep
For thine radiance saved the sinned
Whose hearts He shalt e’er keep!”

Adoro te devote!
Hosanna in excelsis!
Gloria in excelsis!
Allelu-

O’ silent Child of morning,
As the Dove proclaimed the Rose,
Let the Light be indelibly
Withstanding ev’n through our close

So sleep, ye Child, and dream
Of that Light so long ago:
Of Alleluia!

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Full disclaimer: I’m not a religious person, but I am rather spiritual in nature & genuinely love the Christmas season & what it means (for Christians and non-Christians alike). And as someone who grew up with singing Christmas carols, the holiday season is a very cosy one, and I’d love to give back to a festival that lets me feel like a child again.

Christmas carols are an anomaly for me: when writing music, I often try to make the words profound and adhere to a melancholic and/or hopeful sound world that I set this ‘box’ in, and would try to (for a lack of a better word) make it as ‘academic’ as possible. Carols, on the other find, I find to be a playground where I can be my jolliest self & write beautiful music without worrying (nor caring) too much about what I write.

The text to this poem (often times I write the text first - the music might be developed in tandem with text, but composition-wise text often comes first) was written to tell the story, from a mother to a child, of the story of Christmas and the newborn Christ-child. The core words are:

So sleep, ye Child, and dream of that Light so long ago

The remaining text revolved around that core idea. Eventually the first draft was tweaked heavily (after feedback & valuable criticisms regarding the text) & reflected the story much more nicely.

Personally, I find the test a bit lackluster, and will likely change some of the text (especially the multitudes of “the” occuring throughout the piece). I may also secularise the piece for a winter-themed poem.

The original composition set to this text (released on December 24, 2021) can be found here.