Christ's Nativity is a work composed by the late, great John McCabe, arranged for SATB double choir and Organ Accompaniment. This is the vocal score for this glorious work, commissioned by the Halle Choir, and first performed on Sunday the 14th of December, 2014 by them at Halle St Peters, conducted by Madeleine Venner.
For Christ's Nativity, John McCabe set the text of two poems by Henry Vaughan, both of which describe the glory of Jesus and his effect on the mortal realm. McCabe's wonderful music is beautifully fitting for the poetic magic of Vaughan's words, making this 12 minute pieceresound in the minds of audiences for a long time after.
In the September 2015 issue of Organists' Review, David Lindley writes that the work's 'harmonic language is...astringent, the vocal lines often rhythmically complex, and melodically angular.'
