Choral Choir (SATB) - Digital Download SKU: A0.1030990 Composed by Robert Kirby. Christmas,Sacred. Octavo. 10 pages. Robert Kirby #2959553. Published by Robert Kirby (A0.1030990). This exquisitely melancholy and evocative carol, imagining the Nativity in a snowy Northern landscape, was originally written by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) as a Christmas poem for an American magazine, Scribner’s Monthly, in 1872. Few carols can express the quiet heart of Christmas more movingly. Gustav Holst (1874-1934) originally set the poem to music for the 1906 edition of The English Hymnal. In verse one, Rossetti describes the harsh conditions of Earth at the time of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. In verse two, Rossetti contrasts Christ's first and second coming. The third verse portrays the differences between the transcendental angels attendant at Christ's birth and Mary's ability to render Jesus physical affection. The final verse shifts the depiction to a more introspective thought process. In this version of In the Bleak Midwinter, Georgia composer Robert Kirby has given the text a new, introspective melody.