Great Little One is a strophic setting of stanzas from Richard Crashaw’s nativity hymn, for a cappella choir, written for the Stanford Service of Lessons and Carols.

Set in G major, the opening couplet returns as a refrain after each quatrain, harmonized more elaborately at every appearance. I present the verses themselves as contrasting trios: first for alto, tenor, and bass, then for soprano, alto, and tenor. The first verse moves in C, cadencing into G for the refrain; the second is in G, cadencing in D, rising to a high point at “silver doves” before the refrain returns once more. An emotionally intense E-minor coda on the last couplet closes the work, cadencing into E major on the final word “sacrifice,” pianissimo and low in all voices.

Here is the complete text: