This Christmas carol is from 15th Century
England and said to be from the reign of King Henry VI.It is also listed in variations as
"A Babe is Born, All of a Maid" and "A Babe is Born Al of a May".It appeared in various publications
from the mid-1800s and each verse ends in a Latin line.These lines are the initial words
of other church hymns, which was said to be a common practice among writers
of carols of the time.The
composer William Mathias used the text of the carol for his "A Babe is Born
for Chorus & Organ, Op. 53" and a further version has a choral
arrangement by the composer, Gustav Holst, which appears in his Four Old
English Carols.
