The Aldeburgh Carol

The Aldeburgh Carol was written at the request of Aldeburgh Music (Britten-Pears Arts) to herald Benjamin Britten’s centenary in 2013. The poem is by Garth Bardsley, rich in symbolism and employing a repeating “Blessed, Blessed” refrain sung on a B flat – two B’s acknowledging Britten. The scoring is for solo quartet and mixed choir, a gracious nod to Britten’s own “Hymn to the Virgin” which he wrote when just a 16-year-old child.

The Aldeburgh Carol was first performed on 7th December 2012 by Aldeburgh Voices in St Peter & St Paul’s Church, Aldeburgh, conducted by the composer. The carol is featured in Tenebrae’s A Christmas Conversation written by Garth Bardsley and starring Clive Mantle which has been performed around the UK and at the Wigmore Hall, London. 

Blessed, Blessed is the child

No more than dust,
The tiny seed lies dormant in her hand.
Its precious secret, safely clasped within,
Shall be revealed when nurtured by the land.

Sheltered and nourished,
No raging storm can then, its course, impede
And from the earth a matchless gift springs forth;
A lovely flower where there was once a seed. 

With love, each child, we must empower,
That he may bloom as does the flower.

© Garth Bardsley