Susanni translates to an old German word for lullaby. It stems from the root word sausen (which has since evolved to säuseln) meaning "to whisper" or "to murmur." This meaning inspired my setting of Eia, Eia, Susanni as lilting, textural, intoned whispers. This particular phrase comes from the old German carol Von Himmel hoch o Engel kommt (words credited to Martin Luther). The editors of the Oxford Book of Carols date the English translation (A Little Child There Is Ybore) to the 1393 Ashmolean manuscript.
The piece comes in a theme and variations form, where each strophic reiteration is slightly altered to serve the natural inflections of the text. Susanni (A Little Child There is Ybore) is the winner of the 2017 Indianapolis Symphonic Choir Christmas Carol Commission Competition Indianapolis Symphonic Choir 2017 Festival of Carols (world premiere) Hear, see, and buy it on MusicSpoke. http://musicspoke.com/downloads/Susanni
