for mixed voices (SATB) & organ
Text: English (St Thérèse of Lisieux, trans S L Emery)
Duration: c6 minutes
Difficulty: 2/5

This is an approachable and affecting setting of a devotional poem by the revered Carmelite nun St Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–97). The choral writing, marked ‘placid’, comprises simple four-part homophony. The organ part weaves a limpid, measured monophonic line, representing the lyre of the poem, and is scored for manuals, save for one sustained pedal note. The piece slowly builds from its soft commencement to a fortissimo climax at ‘consume away’ before falling away to soft, unison monotones for the final line.

Text
My little Sister, ’waiting there,
Your gift for Bethlehem’s Babe to hear,
Your heart for His melodious lyre
Is what He asks in accents clear.
In heaven’s high court swells up alway
The angels’ song with incense sweet;
And yet He loves, in Carmel’s shade,
To hear your praises at His feet.
So, dearest Sister! ’tis your heart,
Whose melodies our Lord desires.
By night, by day, consume away,
With songs of love, in love’s sweet fires.

St Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–97)
(The Little Divine Beggar of Christmas: I — 5 A Lyre)
translated by S L Emery

James MacMillan
Born in Scotland in 1959, James MacMillan studied at Edinburgh and Durham Universities and now lives in Largs. His early successes as a composer in the 1990s included The Confession of Isobel Gowdie, premiered at the BBC Proms, and the percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel written for Evelyn Glennie. MacMillan has a special interest in choral composition, ranging from simple liturgical settings for use in church services, to major works for choir and orchestra including Seven Last Words from the Cross, Quickening and St John Passion. His music has been championed and recorded by leading choirs and vocal groups including Cappella Nova, Polyphony, The Hilliard Ensemble, The Sixteen, Westminster Cathedral Choir and the Netherlands Chamber Choir. With their Gaelic inflections and characteristic mixing of ancient and modern, his works have also proved popular with amateur chamber choirs around the world.