About Behold That Star

This is my first Christmas tune. The original Behold That Star was written in the early 1900s by Thomas W. Halley, a professor of chemistry at tufts. Halley wrote his song for the Tufts Gospel choir which he directed. After finding his tune in an old book of public domain Christmas songs, I felt inspired to modify his refrain and write entirely new verses. So the relain “Behold that star up yonder it’s the star of Bethlehem,” has a slightly updated melody, new harmony, feel and rhythms. The verse words and melody are entirely new, finding inspiration in the candle light service, the scriptures, and the Robert Frost poems Oh Star and Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood. I am deeply indebted to Thomas W. Halley for his inspiration.