Povera Art and Music

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From the Contributor

In this age of ever growing popularity of secular carols, this is a brief collection of some older and more reverent songs commemorating the promise, the prophecy, and the birth of the Christ child.

<a href=http://modernbard.org/reviews/ilestne.htm target=_blank>Read the review from Modern Bard</a> A note from the artist: This is a collection of some very old Christmas carols. Every year, as Christmas approaches, we hear music written for the season, both old and new. In this age of ever growing popularity of secular carols, I have compiled this brief collection of some older and more reverent - one might even consider them more relevant - songs commemorating the promise, the prophecy, and the birth of the Christ child. Some of the more familiar melodies I have offered without words, while some of the less familiar are offered with vocal accompaniment. It is my hope that this collection may remind everyone that there once was a time when even secular music acknowledged the presence of God in our lives. Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel is typically an advent song, so I thought it might be an appropriate choice to begin this collection. The melody is from around the twelfth century while modern lyric translations date from around the nineteenth century. The Angel Gabriel is usually attributed as a Latin carol from the thirteenth or fourteenth century, the words of which were roughly translated by Sabine Baring-Gould in 1895. Lo, How A Rose E’re Blooming is a fifteenth century German carol that was translated by Theodore Baker in 1894. Angels We Have Heard on High is possibly a combination of a Latin chorale and a medieval French secular carol. The Bishop of Rome in the second century reportedly encouraged his congregation to sing this or a similar hymn during a Nativity worship service, possibly making it the oldest Christmas carol. However, it is more likely an eighteenth century French carol from an anonymous source. As an aside note, ‘Gloria, in excelsis Deo’ means ‘Glory to God in the highest.’ Il Est Né is French for ‘he is born.’ The tune of this carol dates from an eighteenth century composition. The English translator is unknown. Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella is a fourteenth century French carol that is set to the melody a ritournelle, or court dance. Jeanette Isabella may have inspired a famous painting of the Nativity by Georges de La Tour. The First Noel is actually a traditional English carol from the sixteenth century, but some sources attribute the melody to as early as the thirteenth century. What Child Is This is traditionally sung to the the sixteenth century tune of Greensleeves. The words were written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865. Fum, Fum, Fum is a Spanish carol. There is no indication of what Fum might mean, but it has been speculated that the word represents the strummed sound of a Spanish guitar. Hark the Herald Angels Sing actually uses a melody composed much later than the words. In 1840 Felix Mendelssohn wrote the melody to this festival song as part of a cantata honoring Johann Gutenberg. The Coventry Carol is probably from a fifteenth century mystery play depicting Herod’s slaughter of the innocents, although the first written versions cannot be found until the sixteenth century. I Saw Three Ships does not make much sense when interpreted literally. The three ships may have originally represented the magi, of which three is the traditional number. Later interpretations of this song suggest that the three ships represent the holy family or the holy trinity. Angels from the Realms of Glory uses the melody titled Regent Square by Henry Thomas Smart and was first published in the English Presbyterian hymnal in 1867. In the Bleak Midwinter is a poem written by Christina Georgina Rossetti in 1872. Music was later written for it by Gustav Holst in 1906. Infant Holy, Infant Lowly is a traditional Polish carol that was translated by Edith Reed 1925. Good King Wenceslas is not truly a Christmas carol, since the feast of St. Stephen is actually on December twenty-sixth, but it has been linked with Christmas due to the proximity of the date. The melody of this song is that of a thirteenth century spring carol. Patapan is attributed to Bernard de la Monnoye some time in the early eighteenth century. The tune was probably a folk song from the Burgundy region. There are several anonymous translations of this song. Adeste Fidelis was written by John Francis Wade in the eighteenth century. It is better known today by its modern English title of ‘Oh Come All Ye Faithful.’ Good Christian Men Rejoice is a fourteenth century German carol attributed to Heinrich Suso. The legend is that Suso heard angels singing this song and joined them in dance. The Holly and the Ivy is a medieval French carol of indeterminate date. Holly and Ivy were traditional rivals - as in the rivalry of the sexes. In this song the masculine holly appears to get all the good similes, and the female ivy only gets a passing mention. We Three Kings was written in 1857 by John Henry Hopkins, Jr. as part of a Theological Seminary Christmas pageant. The Boars Head Carol dates back to fifteenth century Oxford, England. It supposedly commemorates a university student who escaped assault from a wild boar by choking the animal with his copy of the works of Aristotle. The Latin parts translate ‘behold the head I bring, giving praise to God we sing’, ‘as you all feast so heartily’, ‘let us serve with a song’ and ‘in the Queen’s hall’ in that order. Poverty is an old Welsh carol whose melody is so old that the true origins are obscured by time. Christmas Duanag, also known as Duan Nollaig is an ancient Gaelic carol. The word ‘duanag’ literally means ‘little song.’ Bethlehem Tonight is my own composition. I included it in this collection as a link to the modern. The guitar used on this CD is probably near one hundred years old. It bears no identifying markings but it appears to be the sort that was manufactured in Germany around the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. Although it seems to have weathered many hardships including a repaired hole in its rounded back, a caved in rosette and the replacement of some of the body frets, on the whole it has fared well over the last century and has recently been repaired to reasonable working order. In deference to its age, I hope you will forgive the occasional presence of a buzzing open string, as this is how it sounds now - at least in my hands.

Product Information

· Audio CD
· Number Of Discs: 1

Genre: Christian
Packaging: Jewel Case with Booklet and Tray Card
Release Date: 12/2/2004

Il Est Né - a Medieval Christmas

By Fugli

$14.99

AVAILABILITY: In Stock.

Product Number: 030-9060250

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