The piece was written originally for equal voice choir in 1929. A mixed-choir adaptation was made in 1961 at the request of Oxford University Press. This appeared in print in the same year with an English text under the title A Christmas Carol in a collection of Christmas songs, as well as in a separate print. The musical material of the mixed-choir version largely follows the original. There is one essential difference in verse 5, beginning at bar 35 ( Babe all holy ) where the tenor solo appea...