This edition was prepared by Douglas Brooks-Davies — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Adam lay ybounden
Staff Notation • Sacred, Christmas
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Adam lay ybounden by Douglas Brooks-Davies — Lyrics
Adam lay ybounden,
Bounden in a bond:
Four thousand winter
Thought he not too long.
And all was for an apple,
An apple that he took,
As clerkès finden
Written in their book.
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About Adam lay ybounden
Douglas Brooks-Davies’ setting of Adam lay ybounden unfolds with a fresh and engaging musical language. The SATB choir is employed with particular care, creating moments of both delicate interplay and broader harmonic colour. The text, a medieval English carol, speaks of the Fall of Man and its ultimate redemption through the Virgin Mary, framing it all around the fateful apple. The composer vividly illustrates the narrative, from the primal bondage of Adam to the ultimate blessing brought by Mary’s acceptance of her role as Queen of Heaven. It is a work that celebrates the joy of the Incarnation with both lyrical beauty and rhythmic vitality.
