Appointed Master of the Queen's Music in 2004, Max, as he is fondly known, has now written four Christmas Carols for Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. At just under four minutes in length this traditional-style carol uses the words of long standing friend George Mackay Brown's poem 'Hamnavoe Women and the Warbeth Bell'. It’s not the first time Max has chosen to use texts by the poet who, like Max, lived on the Orkney Islands.