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Pour light upon us from above, “Traditional Dorset.” Healey has said that “The [en-
And fire our hearts with thy strong love, tire] Posy was conceived around this carol, which had
That, as we hear thy Gospel read, been a favorite of mine since its inception.” 7
All fond desires may flee in dread; The text is in two verses:

That when thou comest from the skies, Hark, Shepherds, how the Angels sing
Great Judge, to open thine assize, For joy that Christ is born.
To give each hidden sin its smart, A spotless Virgin did Him bring,
And crown as Kings the pure in heart, Into this world this morn.
A Saviour’s come, by saints foretold.
We be not set at thy left hand, Born of a spotless maid,
Where sentence due would bid us stand, Foreshown by prophecies of old,
But with the Saints thy face may see, And in a manger laid.
For ever wholly loving thee. 5
Wise men from far, led by a star,
In contrast to the opening piece’s declamatory rhet- Which was their faithful guide,
oric and whole-tone harmonic plan, this carol exploits At length did come where Jesus lay;
the potential for syncopation between duple and triple Then Him they glorified.
emphases inherent in 6/8, while keeping the homo- “Glory to God,” arise and sing,
phonic text declamation of the first movement. The And usher in this morn,
anapestic meter of Biggs’ verse is cleverly interrupted Hark how the heav’nly air doth ring,
by a trio of trochees in each verse: “to / suc-cour / by That Jesus Christ is born!
thy / birth our kind,” etc., which Healey sets in 3/4. 6
Harmonically, Healey relies on a slow harmonic A tenor solo leads a call-and-response texture for
rhythm and primarily diatonic sonorities, with a fond- the first four lines of the first verse. The carol is set
ness for the spaciousness of the major seventh chords in in Dorian mode on D, with the prominent raised sixth

both major and minor sections. The melodic range of (B ) lending a rustic quality to the melody. The tempo
a tenth in some phrases conveys joy and spaciousness marking ( = 96) in a 2/4 meter lends a solemn yet
(Figure 2). energetic feel to the musical flow, aided by a ringing
ostinato in the harp with elements of D minor and A
3) Hark, Shepherds, how the Angels Sing minor against a similar sonority sung wordlessly by the
The text for this carol is noted by the composer as choir. The second half of the first verse adapts the call-

Figure 2. Derek Healey, A Posy for the Christ Child, mm. 1-9.
Self-published, © 2014. Used with permission.

CHORAL JOURNAL September 2024 Volume 65 Number 2 59