The carol text 'The Burning Babe' is by the same sixteenth-century poet--Robert Southwell--as the better-known 'This Little Babe.' Like its sister text, it explores an unusual metaphor for the infant Jesus--in this case, a refining fire which purifies the believer. The strophic setting, with soprano solo, is dissonant and chromatic, with edgy rhythms: a fine selection to balance against sweeter Christmas settings. This raucous arrangement of 'Wassailin'' with 'doo-wah' patterns goes 'all over the town' in its depiction of a rowdy Christmas feast. Try it as a change of pace at a madrigal dinner! Choral drones, small percussion, and canon are some of the simple but extremely effective devices in this arrangement of 'Puer Nobis Nascitur' in 6/8 time. This piece will make a fine processional for your Christmas concert. This gentle, homophonic setting of 'Dormi, Jesu!', with its low tessitura and repeated rhythmic pattern, would definitely comfort the baby. This piece is perfect for setting a quiet mood for a Christmas service or concert. 'O Regem Coeli ' - This loveliest of all Christmas motets for upper voices, long out of print in the U.S., is newly edited from the original print of 1572, with literal word-by-word and prose translations and keyboard reduction.