There is no rose of such virtue

These well-known words seem endlessly fruitful for the composer and conjure up such lovely images which strike each of us in our own way. For Paul Spicer it was the beauty of the language with its flower imagery which made him want to set the words with richly warm harmony and to temper that with gently imitative refrains. The result is a beautifully expressive and approachable short carol which would be a welcome alternative to other well-known settings of this text.