Over the years, I have had the opportunity to direct a few anthems written by Carl Wiltse, and have even had the good fortune to work with him in a choral setting. So, when he presented me with a copy of 20 years of Christmas Carols; The Complete Carols of Edith Shaw Butler and Carl Wiltse, I was very interested in looking through them. Since Carl had sung with the Chamber Choir, and his brother, Ric, is still singing with us, my first thought was to choose a couple of carols for our 2009 Christmas concert. This task proved more difficult than I had assumed, because each of the carols was a gem! While I did manage to select a couple, the seed was planted to record the entire set. I was equally intrigued by the story behind these carols. In Carl’s words: It was late October, 1979, when I wrote to Mrs. Edith Shaw Butler, asking permission to set to music her poem “There Were Shepherds.” I had happened across it while looking for a suitable poem to set to music for an Advent service. It had appeared in the November, 1965 issue of “Ideals” magazine. After my answers to a few of her questions, permission was promptly granted from her saying, “I see no reason why you may not use [“There Were Shepherds”] for the purpose you request.” Little did either of us realize what we had set in motion! What had been set in motion was a 20-year collaboration of family Christmas carol cards! The Wiltse and Butler families became friends, writing and visiting each other as time allowed. Edith would send new and old poems, and Carl would send the carols, sometimes with cassette recordings of his family singing them. The result, of course, is this wonderful anthology of their partnership. Carl writes that, he was ”struck with Edith’s genius for putting words together, on topics simple, and yet profound, and the beauty with which she did it.” I believe that he has captured the nature of each of these poems with his musical settings. Included at the end of the recording are three of Carl’s Christmas anthems that are particular favorites of mine. Making this recording has been a wonderful experience. We hope that you enjoy them, and add this recording to your annual holiday listening tradition. Mark Webb, Director