Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

Originally titled "In The Manger He Lies," "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly" is a traditional Polish Christmas carol whose melody may date back to the thirteenth century. The lyrics are attributed to Piotr Skarga (1536-1612), and translated to English in 1921 by Edith Margaret Gellibrand Reed (1885-1933). It is a beautiful and popular carol. You should be familiar with it.

Here we offer a peaceful 3-part mixed arrangement for your older choirs. If your number of lower voices is limited, you may choose to use parts 1 and 2 only. You can even perform it in unison. The unison and 2-part versions are available to hear/use on our web site. We have also included an a cappella version for teaching or just listening. And of course, the usual optional part 2 and part 3 rehearsal tracks are available as well for those respective parts.

With guitar, strings, piano, recorder, bass, and percussion, the song grows dynamically verse by verse as we add parts. Verse one is unison. Verse two has two parts. Verse three has three parts, though part 3 enters in the first ending prior. The melody is guided by recorder in verses one and three, and by guitar in verses two and three.

Vocally the approach should be a classical choral sound. Taller vowels and head voices when reaching for the higher notes. The tone should be kept reverent without neglecting the changing dynamics and tempos.