This setting of the poem It Was Christmas Day by Arvo Turtiainen was commissioned by the Ensemble of the Hungarian People's Army who gave the premiere in Budapest on 15th October 1979. The original Finnish language version was first performed in Helsinki in December 1980. This vocal score contains Finnish and English text (English translation by Rodney Blumer and Essi Kiviranta).For soprano and bass soli male chorus and orchestra.
