Away in a Manger [Alf:36-A791390]

The beautiful Christmas carol AWAY IN A MANGER has long been thought to be the work of the German reformer of religion, Martin Luther, though the text is now believed to have originated in America. While a setting of the text to music by William J. Kirkpatrick is also commonly heard, the setting by American hymnist James Ramsey Murray, first published in his 1887 collection Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses as LUTHER'S CRADLE HYMN, remains the most popular. It is from this publication that the attribution to Martin Luther comes, and an additional spurious attribution to a "Carl Mueller" in 1914 created further confusion, with the melody itself sometimes called "Mueller." Murray's authorship is now fairly established. This arrangement by Arthur Harris is for a boys' choir and orchestra, and a version for mixed chorus, harp and string orchestra (A6734) is also available from the publisher. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.0.0.0: Perc(2): Hp.Clst: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Boys' Chorus (SSAA).