Описание
My Christmas song, "Donkey", lasts 3 minutes and is a setting of my own words for 4-part choir SATB with piano accompaniment. The slow sustained chords of the 4-bar piano opening reflect the tranquillity of the scene - the starry night and hilly terrain around Bethlehem. The contrasting rhythmical quaver figures at bars 5 to 8 represent the characteristic clip-clop motif as the donkey enters the scene, leading us into the verse, followed by a gentle legato chorus.
In verse 3 a pedal note on A in the accompaniment adds to the tension which mounts as the weary travellers near their destination, with the climax at bars 33-34. Two more renditions of the chorus are heard with a key change in the second leading us to the journey's end.
I hope to have portrayed in the song the donkey's gentleness and humility, as well as its tenacity and strength of character, in carrying out its very important task.