The Cradle Hymn melody by William J. Kirkpatrick is one of my favorites. It’s exquisitely simple, yet profoundly moving. Often paired with the carol Away in a Manger, it’s a tune closely associated with Christmastime. I can’t quite explain why it speaks to me so deeply. Perhaps, in singing along to the melody, I sense a warm current of stillness—of hush and breath and tenderness—that seems to belong to the quiet of the Nativity night.

Choosing the organ as the vessel for this setting was an easy decision. With its unmatched dynamic range and limitless color palette, the instrument offered the ideal means to explore that stillness. The piece opens in a nascent shimmer, using closed shuttered strings and celeste to evoke something fragile and celestial. Where, in the silence, you may hear the glistening reverberance of what was and what will be.

As the piece unfolds, the organ’s vast expressive capacity comes to life: plaintive oboe solos, overtone-rich clusters, and the deep, resonant tones of the pedal division that seem to rumble the soul. I wanted to capture the immensity of this instrument—not just its power, but its ability to cradle vulnerability and awe side by side.
Like the break of dawn, the piece gradually ascends toward radiance, culminating in a final chord of immense color and sound. This journey—from the gentlest trace vibration to a cathedral-sized bloom—is a metaphor for human potential. For life itself. To sow a seed from silence and watch it grow into something vast is, for me, the heart of being a composer.

I hope you, too, find your own reflection of beauty as the pipes sing into the stillnessand into your soul.

– From the composer