“Ah la crèche!” was the cry of the peasants and townspeople in 16th-century France as they prepared to celebrate Christmas. Feasts and merriment surrounded Christmas Day then as now. The young people celebrated with dancing. At first, popular tunes were piped for the dances. Over the years, the words to the popular tunes were replaced with more sacred words which told the story of Christmas, creating new carols with old folk tunes. At the Christmas feasts, the new carols were used for ring dancing.

Carols II through VI were composed for the Grand Rapids Area Community Chorus of northern Minnesota in 1983. In 1984, acting upon the suggestion of Philip Brunelle, the original accompaniment of piano was change to string orchestra, keeping the handbells as in the original. The first carol, completing the set, was composed in 1985. I made translations of the French texts, with the exception of the phrase “le petit nouveau né.” That phrase, loosely translated as “the newborn,” seemed too musical with which to tamper.