"Christ's Nativity" - Text, Program Note and Composer Biography

Christ's Nativity

Awake, glad heart! get up, and Sing,
It is the Birth-day of thy King,
Awake! awake!
The Sun doth shake
Light from his locks and all the way
Breathing Perfumes doth spice the day.

Awake, awake! hark, how the wood rings,
Winds whisper, and the busy springs
A concert make;
Awake, awake!
Man is their high-priest, and should rise
To offer up the sacrifice.

I would I were some Bird or Star,
Fluttering in woods, or lifted far
Above this Inn
And Road of sin!
Than wither Star, or Bird, should be
Shining, or singing still to thee.

I would I had in my best part
Fit Rooms for thee! or that my heart
Were so clean as
Thy manger was!
But I am all filth, and obscene,
Yet, if thou wilt, thou canst make clean.

Sweet Jesu! will then; let no more
This Leper haunt, and soil thy door,
Cure him, Ease him
O release him!
And let once more by mystic birth
The Lord of life be born on Earth.
—Henry Vaughan (1621-1695)

Christ's Nativity
Christ’s Nativity is written on a text by Henry Vaughan, a 17th century Welsh metaphysical poet. A simple melody is embellished throughout to follow Vaughan’s colorful depiction of the believer’s amazement at the incarnation, and a horn obbligato sounds the clarion call, (Awake!) later wending along with Vaughan’s whispering winds, fluttering birds, and lifted stars, and culminating in climbing scales and leaping octaves as the chorus concludes with a request that their souls be healed and that Christ be born again. As a singer, I wrote this carol thinking of my experiences singing the great heritage of English, Welsh, Irish, and Scottish choral music, and as a former horn player, I was thinking of the long, flowing lines that are so satisfying to play.
—Peter Hilliard

Peter Hilliard (b.1975) was born and raised in California and now teaches, writes, and conducts near Philadelphia. He studied with David Conte at the San Francisco Conservatory, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in composition, and with Mel Marvin at NYU, where he earned a Masters in Musical Theatre Writing. His writing has been recognized by the National Opera Association, The Turner Classic Movies Young Composers Competition, and the Young New Yorker’s Chorus Composition Competition. His operas and musicals are staged regularly in New York, and his choral music has been performed all over the United States and in Europe. Peter’s wife Allison and their four children live in Abington, PA.