Program note:

The text to the traditional lullaby "Ar Hyd y Nos" is one of many to have been subjected to the  "folk process". Having been translated from Welsh to English by multiple authors and troubadours over the course of its existence, and lending its original melody to other songs and hymns, it is no wonder that the "true" text is somewhat hard to discern. 

I came across this text in its translation by John Ceiriogh Hughes looking for something to fit a melody I had composed in my head to the opening lines of C.S Lewis’s poem “Lullaby” (which regrettably remains in copyright). I was however very drawn to this new text and the wonderful feeling of christmassy-calm that it instilled, and so I found myself, in the middle of a scorching Swedish summer, composing this carol over the span of a weekend spent at Torsö, in Vänern.

This piece is, I suppose, another step in the “ folk process” of these words, which have over their long life found their way into the hearts of many;  I hope it may be a somewhat worthy companion to the wonderful words. 

OSKAR ÖSTERLING, SJÖVIK 2024