Reprise Post: Kolęda - "Gdy się Chrystus Rodzi"

"Kolędy" are the hymns of of the European Christmas Season, which runs from December 4th through Epiphany, January 6th. This is intriguing and mysterious, since the "calends" are the first days of the months in the ancient Roman calendar.

"Gdy się Chrystus Rodzi,"  "When Christ was Born," is an enduring favorite due, I would say, to its tenderness and happiness, a quiet, reverent happiness.  Few things bring greater joy than this hymn performed by good musicians and choristers in a beautiful church at midnight on Christmas Eve.

This choir, "Harmonia," performs with a traditional up-tempo refrain.

A choir from Poznań renders the carol in constant, serene tempo.

Kolenda online is the source of lyrics below, and gives the musical score as well:

Gdy się Chrystus rodzi i na świat przychodzi,
ciemna noc w jasnościach promienistych brodzi.
Aniołowie się radują
pod niebiosa wyśpiewują:

Gloria, gloria, gloria
in excelsis Deo!

Mówią do pasterzy, którzy trzód swych strzegli,
aby do Betlejem czym prędzej pobiegli,
bo się narodził Zbawiciel
wszego świata Odkupiciel:

Gloria, gloria, gloria
in excelsis Deo!

O niebieskie duchy i posłowie nieba,
powiedzcież wyraźniej, co nam czynić trzeba,
bo my nic nie pojmujemy,
ledwo od strachu żyjemy:


Gloria, gloria, gloria
in excelsis Deo!

Nascitur cum Christus et mundo apparet,
Caeca nox fulgore radiante claret.
Angeli in caelis visi
Cantat hymnum paradisi:
Gloria, gloria , gloria,
In excelsis Deo.

Pavidos pastores angeli hortantur,
Bethehem quam primum ut proficiscantur:
Natus enim est Salvator,
Mundi machine Creator.

Gloria, gloria, gloria,
In excelsis Deo. 

Spiritus caelestes caelique legati,
Quidnam faciamus, nobis revelate.
Imperiti nil pollemus,
Metu capti vix vigemus.

Glioria, gloria, gloria,
In excelsis Deo.

 

 

 

English translation here.

Ehret and Evans's International Book of Christmas Carols - a wonderful volume - displays this carol on a two-page spread, giving the first two verses, in Polish and English.

Błogosławiony Bożego Narodzenia!

A Blessed Christmas Season!

to family and friends, far and near.  Julie

 

(This post appeared originally on 12/22/2012. It was edited and updated on 12/27/2020.)

Reprise Post: Kolędy (Polish Christmas Carols) - "Dzisiaj w Betlejem"

 

"Dzisiaj w Betlejem" ("Today in Bethlehem") is a carol of eager, triumphant gladness.

Dzisiaj w Betlejem, dzisiaj w Betlejem
Wesoła nowina
Że Panna czysta, że Panna czysta
Porodziła Syna

(refren:)
Chrystus się rodzi
Nas oswobodzi
Anieli grają
Króle witają
Pasterze śpiewają
Bydlęta klękają
Cuda, cuda ogłaszają

Maryja Panna, Maryja Panna
Dzieciątko piastuje
I Józef święty i Józef święty
On ją pielęgnuje

(refren)

Chociaż w stajence, chociaż w stajence
Panna Syna rodzi
Przecież on wkrótce, przecież on wkrótce
ludzi oswobodzi

(refren)

I trzej królowie, i trzej królowie
od wschodu przybyli
I dary Panu, i dary Panu
kosztowne złożyli

(refren)

Pójdźmy też i my, pójdźmy też i my
przywitać Jezusa
Króla nad królami, Króla nad królami
uwielbić Jezusa

(refren)

Lyric Translate gives a satisfactorily literal translation to English:

Today in Bethlehem, today in Bethlehem
(there are) merry news
That the pure Maiden, that the pure Maiden
Has born a son

(Refrain:)
Christ is born
He's going to deliver us
The angels are playing (music)
The kings are bidding welcome
The shepherds are singing
The cattle is kneeling
Wonders, wonders do they announce

Mary the Maiden, Mary the Maiden
Is nursing the child
And Saint Joseph and Saint Joseph
He's taking care of Her

(Refrain)

Although in a little barn, although in a little barn
The Maiden is bearing Her son
After all He'll soon, after all He'll soon
deliver the people

(Refrain)

And the Three Kings, and the Three Kings
arrived from the east
and they gathered precious
gifts for the Lord, gifts for the Lord

(Refrain)

Let's go, too, let's go, too
and bid welcome to Jesus
King of Kings, King of Kings
to adore Jesus

(Refrain)

The International Book of Christmas Carols has the melody, harmony, accompaniment, and chord notation, although the lyric differs.

Many ensembles record this kolęda, including Mazowsze and also The Mater Dolorosa Choir.

 

(This is an edited version of the original post of 12/24/2012.) 

 

Reprise Post: Chopin, Christmas, and "For Our Freedom and Yours!"

Lulajże, Jezuniu, “Lullaby, Little Jesus” is a traditional Polish Christmas carol dating from the nineteenth century, or who knows, perhaps earlier. Here is a lyric in original and in translation; very homey, yes?

Lulajże Jezuniu, moja Perełko,

 

Lulaj ulubione me Pieścidełko.

 

Lulajże Jezuniu, lulaj, że lulaj

 

A ty go matulu w płaczu utulaj

 

          Hush little Jesus, my little pearl,

          Hush my favourite little delight.

          Hush little Jesus, hush, hush

          But you lovely mother, solace him in tears

Here it is sung by Stefan Witas in a 1932 recording for Columbia. It is worth the trouble to follow the link and take a listen, as it is a great recording of a nice tenor voice, plus all the scratchy vinyl versimilitude.

And here is another, recent recording, perhaps a little syrupy, but with the advantage of clarity, sung slowly enough that it is easy to listen and read the lyric at the same time.

Fryderyk Chopin incorporated this carol into his first scherzo, his Scherzo No.1 in B minor, Op. 20. Why would he do that? And for that matter, why would he set a musical joke in a minor key?

In 1830, Chopin was in Vienna.  The Polish military cadets in Warsaw launched an uprising against the Russian Tsar. This November Uprising of 1830 involved Poles, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, and Belarus, and went on for 8 or 9 months until its ultimate defeat.  This was their battle flag:

                                                     IN THE NAME       OF GOD

                                                     FOR                                AND
                                                    OUR                              YOUR

                                                                  FREEDOM

This is translated as  For our freedom and yours, and has been repeated in subsequent wars, and is repeated now.

Chopin’s friends persuaded him to remain in Vienna while this insurrection raged in his homeland.  So his compatriots were fighting for independence far away; he had TB anyway; he could not fight.  I think that, obsessed with the knowledge of the fight and feeling the agony of his homeland, he must have considered a musical joke perfectly appropriate.  It was a sick joke that Fate was playing on the Poles and their allies. The music speaks of frenzy.

Here is The Taking of the Warsaw Arsenal, Marcin Zaleski 1831.

This is easily imagined on hearing the scherzo.  Here is Artur Rubenstein performing.

The structure of the thing is all there to read about, but the stunner is what happens in the very center of it.  At 3’20” in this recording, the waking nightmare pauses, and reverie takes over.  We hear the melody of Lulajże, Jezuniu.  We hear just the melody, as if we were being rocked in maternal arms, or as if we were in meditation before the Manger, or as if we were at home at Christmas.

But then we are jerked awake, startled back to the present and to war.

There are times when, after reading the news for an hour, I deliberately send my thoughts back to the security and the wholeness of my own childhood – for I was lucky to have such. My father would look at me and say Pieścidełko – little dear one.

I see the twinkling tree and all the glowing lights; I sense the dark snowy winds beyond the curtains; I hear the music; I sense the fragrances from the kitchen; I notice the rustlings of dear ones moving around the house.  Yes, I go back there in memory on purpose, but then startle awake, jerk back to the present, where there is knowledge of protracted, seemingly distant, yet decisive battle.

(This post first appeared on December 24, 2019, and has been edited slightly.)

Polish Wooden Churches Restored

As part of a revamping of the Links listing in the right sidebar here, I have added a link to The First News, a magazine-style site pitched to potential tourists with inclinations to visit Poland.

A recent article discusses the completion of a project to restore ten wooden churches that date from medieval times. The photographs of exteriors and interiors are intriguing. All ten restored structures form a new wooden-church tourist trail in Wielkopolska, which is "Greater Poland," an ancient historical region that includes Poznań. The map below is from the article:

 

 Zdrojewski and Matynka ancestors came to America from Wielkopolska. The dialect map below is from the linked Wikipedia article, which also has images of historic maps as well as of coats of arms of the various historic families. These coats of arms are obviously the best ones!

Map of Polish dialects by Aotearoa - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11836448

Reprise Post: Advent Carol: "Czekam na Ciebie"

Today's reposting is a third edit of the original 2013 kolęda post.

Czekam na Ciebie,  "I wait for You," expresses longing and yearning for the arrival of the Savior.  The Liturgical Season of Advent is prime time for these feelings.

How does it sound? In minor mode, it sounds yearning. Like this, sung by a church organist with an affecting baritone. And like this, performed in the style of a quiet folk tune.

From Nuty Religijne we can obtain the score with Polish lyrics:

Source for the Polish lyric is teksty.org:

Czekam na Ciebie, Jezu mój mały,
ciche błaganie, ku niebu śle.
Twojego przyjścia, czeka świat cały.
Sercem gorącym przyzywa Cię.

          I wait for You, my little Jesus,
          Silent supplication to the sky send.
          For your advent, the whole world is waiting.
          Fervent hearts call You.

Spójrz, tęskniony na tej ziemi,
przyjdź, o Jezu, pociesz nas!
Szczerze kochać Cię będziemy.
Przyjdź, o Jezu, bo już czas.

          Look upon this Earth with its longing,
          Come, O Jesus, comfort us!
          Truly we will love You.
          Come, O Jesus, because it is already time.



Usłysz Maryjo głos Twoich dzieci,
Tyś naszą Matką na każdy dzień.
O daj nam Słońce, które rozświeci,
grzechu i błędu straszliwy cień.

          Hear, Mary, the voice of your children.
          Thou art our Mother, every day.
          Give to us the Sun, that its light
          Will enshadow sin and terrible error.

Spójrz teskniony na tej ziemi,
daj nam Zbawcę, Dziecię Twe.
My dla Niego żyć pragniemy,
Jemu damy serca swe.

          Look upon this Earth with its longing,

          Give to us the Savior, your Son.

          We for Him to be living crave,

          To Him we will give our hearts.

This is a revision of the 2013 post Czekam na Ciebie.

This is edited once more for 2020.