Love brought Me down (Geoff Allan)

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• (Posted 2025-11-06)  CPDL #87327:         

Editor: Geoff Allan (submitted 2025-11-06).   Score information: A4, 12 pages, 396 kB   Copyright: Personal

Edition notes: This is a setting for SATB choir and piano of five verses of a poem by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) called A Candlemas Dialogue. The poem is written as a dialogue, or conversation, between an unnamed speaker and the speaker's inner self. The poem discusses themes of repentance, joy, and suffering. Rossetti was an English poet who wrote the words of two well known carols, In the bleak midwinter and Love came down at Christmas.

General Information

Title: Love Brought Me Down
Composer: Geoff Allan
Lyricist: Christina Rossetti
Number of voices: 4vv   Voicing: SATB
Genre: Sacred, Carol, Christmas

Language: English
Instruments: Piano

First published: 2025
Description: This is a setting for SATB choir and piano of five verses of a poem by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) called "A Candlemas Dialogue". The poem is written as a dialogue, or conversation, between an unnamed speaker and the speaker's inner self. The poem discusses themes of repentance, joy, and suffering. Rossetti was an English poet who wrote the words of two well known carols, "In the bleak midwinter" and "Love came down at Christmas".

External websites:

• YouTube score video : https://youtu.be/N5er4DgfWEo
• Composer's website http://allans.org.uk

Original text and translations

English text

     A Candlemas Dialogue
      by Christina Rossetti

'Love brought Me down: and cannot love make thee
Carol for joy to Me?
Hear cheerful robin carol from his tree,
Who owes not half to Me
I won for thee.'

'Yea, Lord, I hear his carol's wordless voice;
And well may he rejoice
Who hath not heard of death's discordant noise.
So might I too rejoice
With such a voice.'

'Ah me, Thy Cross! – but that seems far away;
Thy Cradle-song to-day
I too would raise and worship Thee and pray:
Not empty, Lord, to-day
Send me away.'

'If thou wilt not go empty, spend thy store;
And I will give thee more,
Yea, make thee ten times richer than before.
Give more and give yet more
Out of thy store.'

'Because Thou givest me Thyself, I will
Thy blessed word fulfil,
Give with both hands, and hoard by giving still:
Thy pleasure to fulfil,
And work Thy Will.'