Tim Benjamin

This is a choral Christmas Carol originally composed for the service of Nine Lessons and Carols. The text is based on St Luke's account of the Annunciation (Luke 1: 26–35; 38)

Do not be afraid … I am Gabriel … The Lord is with you …

How can this be?

You will conceive! You will give birth to a Son! You will name Him Jesus!

How can this be? – for I know not a man … How can this be? – for I know not … How can this be? – for I …

Son of the Most High! He will take the throne of David! He will reign forever! His kingdom will never end!

Do not be afraid …

How can this be? … … for I know not … … a man …

I imagined Gabriel arriving in a shadowy corner of Mary's bedchamber, in the middle of the night. At first he would appear as whispers and murmurs, saying "Do not be afraid..." (but of course, she would surely have been!) - a while later, as Gabriel has fully entered the mortal realm, he is able to proclaim his important message to Mary - that she will give birth to a son, and that his name would be Jesus, and that he was the son of God.

The words of Mary in response captivated me and inspired this carol - "How can this be, for I know not a man?"

In imagining the arrival of an Archangel - a terrifyingly powerful supernatural being from Heaven - I was reminded of this painting, "Deimos", by Dragan Bibin, which is one of the most deeply unsettling paintings I know:

After my carol was first performed (I was at the organ, accompanying the massed choirs of Todmorden, West Yorkshire!), I was approached by many members of the congregation. The whispering effect at the beginning and end of the music had been very effective - they reported hearing whispered voices from all around the church, everywhere yet nowhere (despite that the actual voices whispering were confined to the Chancel), and the effect had been very unsettling, and the sung response of "Mary" (by the women and girls of the choir) very moving in equal measure.