Music by DANIEL DORFF
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PROGRAM NOTES & REVIEWS
He Is Love for Voice (or 2-part chorus) and Piano (or brass quintet)
In late 1980 I received a Christmas card from Pat Silver, a graphic designer who had written a short poem and illustrated it for her annual Christmas card. I replied by setting Pat's poem to music, changing a few words to fit my idea of the song. I called the song Christmas and it was premiered with that title by Jody Applebaum in 1985, with Marc-André Hamelin at the piano. In 1999 I adapted it for 2-part treble chorus and also created a brass quintet accompaniment for soprano Yukiko Ishida's performances in Tokyo. Also in 1999, the 2-part choral version went into production at Elkan-Vogel; just before going to press under the title Christmas, my colleagues pointed out that despite the origin of the poem, it's not a nativity song though it could be used at Christmas season; more appropriate would be Easter or throughout the year. We retitled it from the line He Is Love to best express the meaning of the song.
	last updated May 1, 2026 home