Two Christmas Ballads

Beautiful poems by American poets Sara Teasdale and Phyllis McGinley, each telling a very human Christmas story. Teasdale's “Carol” contrasts the magnificence of the songs of angels and kings with the baby Jesus, who “fell asleep before the song was done.” McGinley's “Ballad” is a retelling of the ancient legend of Befana the Housewife, always too busy to greet the new-born babe until it is too late. The Choral Journal called these two pieces “brilliant choral writing...enthusiastically recommended...”