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O magnum mysterium (William Byrd, 1540 - 1623)
O magnum mysterium
Et admirabile sacramentum,
Ut animalia viderent Dominum natum
Jacentem in praesepio.
O beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt
Portare Dominum Jesum Christum.
Ave maria, gratia plena: Dominus tecum.
Alleluia!
O great mystery
And wonderful sacrament,
That animals should see the new-born Lord
Lying in a manger.
O blessed is the Virgin, whose womb
Was worthy to bear Christ the Lord.
Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you.
Alleluia!
The Bethlehem Star (Bob Chilcott, b. 1955)
Moonless darkness stands between.
Past, the Past, no more be seen!
But the Bethlehem-star may lead me
To the sight of Him who freed me
From the self that I have been.
Make me pure, Lord: Thou are holy;
Make me meek, Lord: Thou wert lowly;
Now beginning, and alway:
Now begin, on Christmas day.
-Gerald Manley Hopkins (1844 - 1899)
Christmas Cantata (I. Quem vidistis, pastores?) (Daniel Pinkham, 1923 - 2006)
Quem vidistis pastores dicite:
Annuntiate nobis in terris quis apparuit:
Natum vidimus, et choros Angelorum
Collandantes Dominum.
Dicite quidnam vidistis,
Et annuntiate Christi Nativitatem.
Whom did you see? Shepherds, say!
Who was there? Pray tell us who came down to the earth,
Tell us who appeared!
We saw the infant Child,
And angels sang in chorus glorifying God on High.
Tell us then! Say what you saw there!
Tell the glad tidings that Christ was born to save us!
I Wonder as I Wander (Andrew Carter, b. 1939)
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on’ry people like you and like I…
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.
When Mary birthed Jesus all in a cow’s stall,
Came wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.
But high from God’s heaven a star’s light did fall,
And the promise of ages it then did recall.
If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing,
A star in the sky, or a bird on the wing,
Or all of God’s angels in heav’n for to sing,
He surely could have it, for he was the King.
- Appalachian Folk Carol
La Peregrinacion (Ariel Ramirez 1921 - 2010, arr. Peter Knight 1917 - 1985)
A la huella, a la huella
José y María
Por las pampas heladas
Cardos y ortigas.
A la huella, a la huella
Cortando campo
No hay cobijo ni fonda
Sigan andando.
Florecita del campo,
Clavel del aire
Si ninuno te aloja
A dónde naces, florcita?
Dónde naces, florcita?
Que estas creciendo,
Palomita asustada,
Grillo sin sueño.
A la huella, a la huella
José y María
Con un dios escondido
Nadie sabía.
A la huella, a la huella
Los peregrinos
Préstenme una tapera
Para mi niño.
A la huella, a la huella
Soles y luna
Los ojitos de almendra
Piel de aceituna.
Ay, burrito del campo
Ay, buey barcino
Mi niño esta viniendo
Háganle sitio.
Un ranchito de quincha
Sólo me ampara
Dos alientos amigos
La luna clara
A la huella, a la huella
José y María
Con un dios escondido
Nadie sabía.
Follow the trail, follow the trail
Joseph and Mary
Across the frozen Pampas
Thistles and nettles.
Follow the trail, follow the trail
Cutting through the fields
There is no shelter, no inn
Keep on walking.
Little flower in the field,
Carnation of the air
If no one puts you up
Where will you be born?
Where will you be born,
Little flower?
Now that you are growing
Frightening dove, sleepless cricket
Follow the trail, follow the trail
Joseph and Mary
With a hidden god
Nobody knew.
Follow the trail, follow the trail
The pilgrims
Lend me a ruined house
For my child.
Follow the trail, follow the trail
Through suns and moons
The little almond eyes
Olive skin.
Oh, little donkey in the field
Oh, reddish-grey ox
My child is coming
Make some space for him
A thatched hut
Is the only shelter I have
Two friendly breaths
The bright moon
Follow the trail, follow the trail
Joseph and Mary
With a hidden god
Nobody knew.
- Ariel Ramirez
Ave Maris stella (Guillaume Dufay, d. 1474)
Ave maris stella
Dei Mater alma,
Atque semper Virgo,
Feliz caeli porta.
Sumens illud Ave
Gabrielis ore,
Funda nos in pace,
Mutans Evae nomen.
Solve vincla reis,
Proffer lumen caecis,
Mala nostra pelle,
Bona cuncta posce
Monstra te esse matrem
Sumat per te preces,
Qui pro nobis natus
Tulit esse tuus.
Virgo singularis,
Inter omnes mitis,
Nos culpis solutos,
Mites fac et castos.
Vitam praesta puram,
Iter para tutum,
Ut videntes Jesum,
September collaetemur.
Sit laus Deo Patri,
Summo Christo decus
Spiritui Sancto,
Tribus honor unus. Amen.
Hail, star of the sea,
loving Mother of God,
and also always a virgin,
Happy gate of heaven.
Receiving that Ave
from Gabriel's mouth
confirm us in peace,
Reversing Eva's name.
Break the chains of sinners,
Bring light to the blind,
Drive away our evils,
Ask for all good.
Show yourself to be a mother,
May he accept prayers through you,
he who, born for us,
Chose to be yours.
O unique virgin,
Meek above all,
Make us, absolved from sin,
Gentle and chaste.
Keep life pure,
Make the journey safe,
So that, seeing Jesus,
We may always rejoice together.
Let there be praise to God the Father,
Glory to Christ in the highest,
To the Holy Spirit,
One honor to all three. Amen.
- Anonymous, Trans. By Allen H. Simon
Here Is the Little Door (Owain Park, b. 1993)
Here is the little door, lift up the latch, oh lift!
We need not wander more but enter with our gift;
Our gift of finest gold,
Gold that was never bought nor sold;
Myrrh to be strewn about his bed;
Incense in clouds about his head;
All for the Child who stirs not in his sleep.
But holy slumber holds with ass and sheep.
Bend low about his bed, for each he has a gift;
See how his eyes awake, lift up your hands, O lift!
For gold, he gives a keen-edged sword
(Defend with it Thy little Lord!),
For incense, smoke of battle red.
Myrrh for the honoured happy dead;
Gifts for his children terrible and sweet,
Touched by such tiny hands and
Oh such tiny feel.
- Frances Chesterton (1869-1938)
There Shall Be Christmas Day (Reginal Wright, b. 1976)
Led by a star, a golden star,
The youngest star, an olden star,
Here the kings and the shepherds are,
Akneeling on the ground.
What did they come to the inn to see?
God in the Highest, and this is He,
A baby asleep on His mother’s knee
And with her kisses crowned.
Now is the earth a dreary place,
A troubled place, a weary place.
Peace has hidden her lovely face
And turned in tears away.
Yet the sun, through the war-cloud, sees
Babies asleep on their mother’s knees.
While there are love and home—and these--
There shall be Christmas Day.
- Joyce Kilmer (1886 - 1918)
Christus est stella (Will Todd)
Christus est stella matutina, Alleluia;
Qui nocte saeculi transacta, Alleluia;
Lucem vitae sanctis promittit, Alleluia;
Et pandit aeternam, Alleluia.
Christ is the morning star, Alleluia;
Who when the night of this world is past, Alleluia,
Promises and reveals to his saints, Alleluia,
The everlasting light of life, Alleluia.
- The Venerable Bede (673-735)
Jesu Christe (Andrew Maxfield)(Sprinkled throughout in various forms)
Jusu Christe crixifixe,
Miserere mei.
Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on me.
O magnum mysterium
Et admirabile sacramentum,
Ut animalia viderent Dominum natum
Jacentem in praesepio.
O beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt
Portare Dominum Jesum Christum.
Ave maria, gratia plena: Dominus tecum.
Alleluia!
O great mystery
And wonderful sacrament,
That animals should see the new-born Lord
Lying in a manger.
O blessed is the Virgin, whose womb
Was worthy to bear Christ the Lord.
Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you.
Alleluia!
The Bethlehem Star (Bob Chilcott, b. 1955)
Moonless darkness stands between.
Past, the Past, no more be seen!
But the Bethlehem-star may lead me
To the sight of Him who freed me
From the self that I have been.
Make me pure, Lord: Thou are holy;
Make me meek, Lord: Thou wert lowly;
Now beginning, and alway:
Now begin, on Christmas day.
-Gerald Manley Hopkins (1844 - 1899)
Christmas Cantata (I. Quem vidistis, pastores?) (Daniel Pinkham, 1923 - 2006)
Quem vidistis pastores dicite:
Annuntiate nobis in terris quis apparuit:
Natum vidimus, et choros Angelorum
Collandantes Dominum.
Dicite quidnam vidistis,
Et annuntiate Christi Nativitatem.
Whom did you see? Shepherds, say!
Who was there? Pray tell us who came down to the earth,
Tell us who appeared!
We saw the infant Child,
And angels sang in chorus glorifying God on High.
Tell us then! Say what you saw there!
Tell the glad tidings that Christ was born to save us!
I Wonder as I Wander (Andrew Carter, b. 1939)
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on’ry people like you and like I…
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.
When Mary birthed Jesus all in a cow’s stall,
Came wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.
But high from God’s heaven a star’s light did fall,
And the promise of ages it then did recall.
If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing,
A star in the sky, or a bird on the wing,
Or all of God’s angels in heav’n for to sing,
He surely could have it, for he was the King.
- Appalachian Folk Carol
La Peregrinacion (Ariel Ramirez 1921 - 2010, arr. Peter Knight 1917 - 1985)
A la huella, a la huella
José y María
Por las pampas heladas
Cardos y ortigas.
A la huella, a la huella
Cortando campo
No hay cobijo ni fonda
Sigan andando.
Florecita del campo,
Clavel del aire
Si ninuno te aloja
A dónde naces, florcita?
Dónde naces, florcita?
Que estas creciendo,
Palomita asustada,
Grillo sin sueño.
A la huella, a la huella
José y María
Con un dios escondido
Nadie sabía.
A la huella, a la huella
Los peregrinos
Préstenme una tapera
Para mi niño.
A la huella, a la huella
Soles y luna
Los ojitos de almendra
Piel de aceituna.
Ay, burrito del campo
Ay, buey barcino
Mi niño esta viniendo
Háganle sitio.
Un ranchito de quincha
Sólo me ampara
Dos alientos amigos
La luna clara
A la huella, a la huella
José y María
Con un dios escondido
Nadie sabía.
Follow the trail, follow the trail
Joseph and Mary
Across the frozen Pampas
Thistles and nettles.
Follow the trail, follow the trail
Cutting through the fields
There is no shelter, no inn
Keep on walking.
Little flower in the field,
Carnation of the air
If no one puts you up
Where will you be born?
Where will you be born,
Little flower?
Now that you are growing
Frightening dove, sleepless cricket
Follow the trail, follow the trail
Joseph and Mary
With a hidden god
Nobody knew.
Follow the trail, follow the trail
The pilgrims
Lend me a ruined house
For my child.
Follow the trail, follow the trail
Through suns and moons
The little almond eyes
Olive skin.
Oh, little donkey in the field
Oh, reddish-grey ox
My child is coming
Make some space for him
A thatched hut
Is the only shelter I have
Two friendly breaths
The bright moon
Follow the trail, follow the trail
Joseph and Mary
With a hidden god
Nobody knew.
- Ariel Ramirez
Ave Maris stella (Guillaume Dufay, d. 1474)
Ave maris stella
Dei Mater alma,
Atque semper Virgo,
Feliz caeli porta.
Sumens illud Ave
Gabrielis ore,
Funda nos in pace,
Mutans Evae nomen.
Solve vincla reis,
Proffer lumen caecis,
Mala nostra pelle,
Bona cuncta posce
Monstra te esse matrem
Sumat per te preces,
Qui pro nobis natus
Tulit esse tuus.
Virgo singularis,
Inter omnes mitis,
Nos culpis solutos,
Mites fac et castos.
Vitam praesta puram,
Iter para tutum,
Ut videntes Jesum,
September collaetemur.
Sit laus Deo Patri,
Summo Christo decus
Spiritui Sancto,
Tribus honor unus. Amen.
Hail, star of the sea,
loving Mother of God,
and also always a virgin,
Happy gate of heaven.
Receiving that Ave
from Gabriel's mouth
confirm us in peace,
Reversing Eva's name.
Break the chains of sinners,
Bring light to the blind,
Drive away our evils,
Ask for all good.
Show yourself to be a mother,
May he accept prayers through you,
he who, born for us,
Chose to be yours.
O unique virgin,
Meek above all,
Make us, absolved from sin,
Gentle and chaste.
Keep life pure,
Make the journey safe,
So that, seeing Jesus,
We may always rejoice together.
Let there be praise to God the Father,
Glory to Christ in the highest,
To the Holy Spirit,
One honor to all three. Amen.
- Anonymous, Trans. By Allen H. Simon
Here Is the Little Door (Owain Park, b. 1993)
Here is the little door, lift up the latch, oh lift!
We need not wander more but enter with our gift;
Our gift of finest gold,
Gold that was never bought nor sold;
Myrrh to be strewn about his bed;
Incense in clouds about his head;
All for the Child who stirs not in his sleep.
But holy slumber holds with ass and sheep.
Bend low about his bed, for each he has a gift;
See how his eyes awake, lift up your hands, O lift!
For gold, he gives a keen-edged sword
(Defend with it Thy little Lord!),
For incense, smoke of battle red.
Myrrh for the honoured happy dead;
Gifts for his children terrible and sweet,
Touched by such tiny hands and
Oh such tiny feel.
- Frances Chesterton (1869-1938)
There Shall Be Christmas Day (Reginal Wright, b. 1976)
Led by a star, a golden star,
The youngest star, an olden star,
Here the kings and the shepherds are,
Akneeling on the ground.
What did they come to the inn to see?
God in the Highest, and this is He,
A baby asleep on His mother’s knee
And with her kisses crowned.
Now is the earth a dreary place,
A troubled place, a weary place.
Peace has hidden her lovely face
And turned in tears away.
Yet the sun, through the war-cloud, sees
Babies asleep on their mother’s knees.
While there are love and home—and these--
There shall be Christmas Day.
- Joyce Kilmer (1886 - 1918)
Christus est stella (Will Todd)
Christus est stella matutina, Alleluia;
Qui nocte saeculi transacta, Alleluia;
Lucem vitae sanctis promittit, Alleluia;
Et pandit aeternam, Alleluia.
Christ is the morning star, Alleluia;
Who when the night of this world is past, Alleluia,
Promises and reveals to his saints, Alleluia,
The everlasting light of life, Alleluia.
- The Venerable Bede (673-735)
Jesu Christe (Andrew Maxfield)(Sprinkled throughout in various forms)
Jusu Christe crixifixe,
Miserere mei.
Jesus Christ crucified, have mercy on me.
