Program Note:   

Sussex Carol consists of a set of variations for solo cello on two intertwined Advent carols: the first is a traditional carol tune from Monk's Gate, Sussex; the other is a Dublin carol from the mid 1880s. Hagen also gives a nod to the 1919 version published by Ralph Vaughan Williams and certainly had in mind Cecil Sharpe's words: "On Christmas Night all Christians sing / To hear what news those angels bring; / News of great joy; news of great mirth; / News of our Saviour King's own birth." Dedicated to Robert La Rue, the piece stands alone, but also serves as a movement in the large-scale work for mixed chorus and cello, Silent Night.