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The Oxen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Oxen" is a poem (sometimes known by its first line, "Christmas Eve, and Twelve of the Clock") by the English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy (1840–1928). It relates to a West Country legend: that, on the anniversary of Christ's Nativity, each Christmas Day, farm animals kneel in their stalls in homage. It was first published in December 1915, in the London newspaper The Times.[1] It has been set to music several times.

Musical settings

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These include (in date order, where known):[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock". recmusic.org. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  2. ^ Hodie (Vaughan Williams, Ralph): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  3. ^ The Swingle Singers: The Oxen, Composed by Thomas Hardy at AllMusic. Retrieved 18 May 2015.