advent-of-the-longest-night calendar
Feast in the light. Use the dark to grow the impact of the flame. These are pictures from recent winters. My own efforts to fight the dark and focus on the ever green. Life against death.
(from an early recording)
Xmas carol by EP
a carol is…
1: an old round dance with singing
2: a song of joy or mirth—”the carol of a bird”— Lord Byron
3: a popular song or ballad of religious joy
I set the 15th c. text from plainchant Xmas carol “Puer natus in Bethlehem”. Here is the original, sung by the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos. They sing 4 verses (1, 2, 14 and 15) with a refrain “In cordis jubilo, Christum natum adoremus cum novo cantico” or “in joyful heart, let us adore the newborn Christ with a new song.”
The verses I chose are below (1, 5, 6, 8, 14—no refrain) , both original Latin and my English translation. With the music I hoped to highlight the festive meaning of the word “carol.” Every aspect of the nativity myth screams renewal—from the birth of a human baby in which we all might see ourselves—to the socioeconomic upending of the low manger visited by the rich kings—and the interspecies challenge where beasts of burden honor the birth in peace. The carol is a rowdy shout for life in the face of danger and ultimate darkness. Almost desperate, insistent in its merriment. I hoped to show that in the music. Party
Puer natus in Bethlehem
Alleluia
Unde gaudet Jerusalem
Alleluia
Hic jacet in praesepio
Alleluia
Qui regnat sine termino
Alleluia
Cognovit bos et asinus
Quod puer erat dominus
Reges de Saba veniunt
Aurum, thus et myrrhum offerunt
In hoc natali gaudio
Alleluia
Benedicamus domino
Alleluia
Boy child born down in Bethlehem
Alleluia
Bells will ring in Jerusalem
Alleluia
Lying in a manger
Alleluia
Who shall reign forever
Alleluia
Ox and ass, then knew
That the boy was god, they knew him
Kings from Sabâ came bringing
Gold, frankincense and myrrh, they offered him
On this happy birthday
Alleluia
Speak well of the lord
Alleluia