This carol is one of the pieces that were produced during a full weekend of group composition with Anna Lapwood and the Pembroke College Girls’ Choir, a process with which they had experimented previously. Using five verses of Sara Teasdale’s poem Christmas Carol, the girls quickly decided on using compound time and modal inflections, before writing the jaunty melody and harmonizing to reflect the character of each verse. The work may also be performed by unison voices and piano.