For SSAATB choir and piano
Tune: Kirkpatrick
Words: anonymous
Arranged by Phil Orrin
Background
Away in a Manger is one of the best-loved Christmas carols, with its gentle depiction of the infant Christ lying in the manger. In this arrangement, the familiar Kirkpatrick tune is retained but surrounded by a more expansive harmonic and pianistic treatment.
Music
The arrangement opens quietly and intimately, with the voices entering almost as a distant chorale above a delicate piano texture. The marking Poco Andante and the opening ppp establish a restrained, contemplative atmosphere.
As the carol unfolds, the four vocal parts increasingly move independently, with changing harmonies and expressive suspensions adding colour to the familiar melody. The piano is an important part of the musical conception, providing flowing figurations, harmonic movement and moments of dramatic intensity.
