Who's behind the notes? Discover Gustav Holst: Visionary Composer of The Planets
"In the Bleak Midwinter" is a Christmas carol based on a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti. The poem was published posthumously in 1904. It became famous as a Christmas carol after it appeared in The English Hymnal in 1906 with a setting by Gustav Holst. Holst's simple yet evocative melody, composed in the key of A minor, perfectly captures the melancholic and reflective nature of Rossetti's text. The carol has since become a staple of Christmas services and concerts around the English-speaking world.