Away in a Manger
The children's Christmas carol to William J. Kirkpatrick's tune of 1895, the usual one in Britain, for 2 to 4 singers: the first verse, slow and gentle. The alto sings Kirkpatrick's second voice, smoothed in places, mostly in sixths and thirds under the tune; the bass sings the low notes of his accompaniment, and the tenor fills in the chord, mostly on G. A lullaby to sing together.
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The parts
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The first verse
Words: Anonymous (in print by 1882), as printed in Joy and Praise (1908)Tune: "Cradle Song", William J. Kirkpatrick (1895)
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.The stars in the bright sky looked down where He lay,The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
About Away in a Manger
Away in a Manger is an anonymous American carol, in print by 1882. Early books credited its words to Martin Luther, but historians reject that. The tune is William J. Kirkpatrick's, whose earliest known printing is of 1895 and which was later called Cradle Song; the Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology calls it the usual tune in Britain, while in the United States the setting most printed is James R. Murray's, often called Mueller. Our arrangement is read from Joy and Praise, which Kirkpatrick edited with J. H. Fillmore: the soprano and alto sing his two voices, the bass his accompaniment's lowest notes, and the tenor is ours. This is the first verse for 2 to 4 singers, in G.
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