A Medieval Christmas by Peter Eramo

FOLGER CONSORT 2021/22 SEASON OF EARLY MUSIC

A MEDIEVAL CHRISTMAS December 10-18, 2021

FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY BOARD OF GOVERNORS J. May Liang, Chair D. Jarrett Arp, Vice-Chair Roger Millay, Vice-Chair Richard D. Batchelder, Jr. Sir Simon Russell Beale, CBE Jeff Bleich Rebecca Bushnell Vinton Cerf Florence H. Cohen Debbie Driesman Susan Sachs Goldman Rosa Joshi Derek Kaufman Gail Kern Paster Eugene Pinkard Stuart Rose Charles Roxburgh Paul Smith Ramie Targoff Ayanna Thompson Ex Officio Michael Witmore

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FOLGER CONSORT Robert Eisenstein Christopher Kendall Artistic Directors

A MEDIEVAL CHRISTMAS With Dan Meyers, Emily Noël, and Mary Springfels Aquitania and Catalonia Natus est Rex Noster cetus psallat laetus Angelorum laude digna instruments Benedicamus Domino instruments Ave caro instruments Psallat chorus

Anonymous

13th Century England Miri it is In excelsis numine instruments Angelus ad virginem (several settings) Three untexted duos instruments Edi beo thu, hevene-queene Standpipes instruments

Anonymous

Trecento Italy Benedicamus Domino instruments Cristo è nato Benedicamus Domino instruments Da ciel venne messo novello Kyrie rondello instruments Gloria instruments Gloria’n cielo e pace in terra 15th Century English Carols Nowell, Nowell: Dieu vous garde Ah, my dear son Ave rex angelorum instruments There is no rose Lullay, lullow instruments Nowell, tidings true Nowell sing we both all and some

Anonymous Anonymous Paolo Anonymous Anonymous Egardus Anonymous Anonymous

FOLGER CONSORT

Engaging Washington-area audiences since 1977, Folger Consort is the early music ensemble-in-residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Founding Artistic Directors Robert Eisenstein and Christopher Kendall create programs that offer opportunities to discover and enjoy music from the medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. Whether presenting concerts in the Folger’s Elizabethan-styled theater, or in other beautiful and historic venues such as St. Mark’s Church and Washington National Cathedral, Folger Consort continues its tradition of bringing renowned guest artists to Washington, DC to join in is “early music chamber society.” Learn more at folger.edu/consort. Robert Eisenstein—Artistic Director, Vielle, Recorder—is a founding member and program director of the Folger Consort. In addition to his work with the Consort, he is the director of the Five College Early Music Program in Massachusetts, where he teaches music history, performs regularly on viola da gamba, violin, and medieval fiddle, and coordinates and directs student performances of medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music. He is an active participant in Five College Medieval Studies and served as Music Director for the Five College Opera Project production of Francesca Caccini’s La liberazione di Ruggiero. He has a particular interest in the use of computer technology in the service of music and enjoys teaching a course called Fun with Music and Technology at Mount Holyoke College. Eisenstein is the recipient of Early Music America's Thomas Binkley Award for outstanding achievement in performance and scholarship by the director of a college early music ensemble. Christopher Kendall—Artistic Director, Lute, Citole, Medieval Harp—is founder of the Folger Consort. He served from 2005-2015 as dean of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where he was responsible for establishing the University of Michigan Gershwin Initiative, for re-instituting international touring, for the funding and design of a $30M expansion/ renovation of the music building, and for launching the interdisciplinary enterprise ArtsEngine and its national initiative a2ru (Alliance for the Arts at Research Universities). In Washington, DC, in addition to his work with Folger Consort, since 1975 he has been Artistic Director and conductor of the 21st Century Consort, new music ensemble-in-residence at the Smithsonian Institution. Kendall served as Director of the University of Maryland School of Music from 1996 to 2005, and was Director of the Music Division and Tanglewood Institute of the Boston University School for the Arts from 1993 to 1996. Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony from 1987 to 1992, Kendall 4

has guest conducted many orchestras and ensembles in repertoire from the 18th to the 21st centuries. His recordings can be heard on the Arabesque, ASV, Bard, Centaur, Delos, Innova, Nonesuch, and

GUEST ARTISTS Dan Meyers—Medieval Winds, Percussion—is a versatile multi-instrumentalist who has developed a reputation as a flexible and engaging performer of both classical and folk music. His credits range from premieres of new chamber music, to headlining a concert series in honor of Pete Seeger at the Newport Folk Festival, to playing Renaissance instruments on Broadway as part of the “band” for Shakespeare’s Globe. He is a founding member of the Boston-based early music/folk crossover group Seven Times Salt and also performs throughout New England with the 7 Hills Renaissance Wind Band and the medieval music ensemble Meravelha. In recent seasons he has appeared with the Newberry Consort, the 21st Century Consort, the Boston Shawm and Sackbut Ensemble, Early Music New York, In Stile Moderno, the Cambridge Revels, and at the La Luna e i Calanchi Festival in Basilicata, Italy. He is the director of early wind studies for the Five Colleges Early Music Program and has taught recorder and Renaissance winds for the Early Music Week at Pinewoods and at Tufts University. He also performs southern Italian folk music with the award-winning band Newpoli and traditional Irish music with Ulster Landing and Ishna Emily Noël—Soprano—performs a wide variety of repertory expanding from the Medieval to the contemporary. Favorite Folger performances include: Gloria!, Davenant’s Macbeth, Second Shepherds’ Play, An English Garden, Play of Love, Measure + Dido, The Merchant of Venice, Christmas in New Spain, and Map of the World. She has also appeared as a soloist with the Washington Bach Consort, Washington National Cathedral, LyricFest, Ente Concerti Città di Iglesias, Amsterdam Grachtenfestival, American Opera Theater, Mountainside Baroque, Seven Times Salt, Early Interval, and Santa Fe Desert Chorale. A passionate educator, Emily has served on the faculties of Franklin & Marshall College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, and The Community College of Rhode Island. She currently teaches voice at Denison University and directs the Cardinal Singers at Otterbein University. Mary Springfels—Vielle, Citole—is the founder and former director of the Newberry Consort. A veteran of the early music movement in America, she has performed and recorded extensively with such ensembles as the New York Pro Musica, the Waverly Consort, Concert Royal, Sequentia, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Music of the Baroque, Musica Sacra, the Marlborough Festival, the New York City Opera, and Chicago Opera Theater, where she served as an artistic advisor. She is much in demand as a teacher and player in summer festivals throughout the US, among them the San Francisco and Amherst early music festivals, the Conclave of the Viola da Gamba Society of America, Pinewoods Early Music Week, and the Texas Toot. She has recently performed with the Sonoma Bach Festival, Arizona Bach Festival, Dallas Bach Festival, and Ars Lyrica of Houston.

NOTES Medieval music presents both modern performers and listeners with some great challenges. In spite of the best efforts of historians, we know relatively little about the conventions of medieval performance practice, and we probably will never know much more than we already do. In most cases, we are dealing with cultures that were literate only at the very highest social levels. Until the end of the 12th century, there was no reliable way to notate rhythms, and earlier notation of pitches can be sketchy at best. Instrumentalists were by and large not part of the literate elite, and so we can count on two hands the number of surviving sources of instrumental music. To compound our problems, the people who wrote about music in the Middle Ages were theorists more interested in philosophical speculations about the divine music of the spheres than in practical music-making. Almost any use of instruments in the performance of medieval music is bound to be speculative, and there are almost as many problems with vocal music. Why, then, does medieval music continue to fascinate performers and listeners? Medieval music is an exotic echo of distant times, and reminds us of romanticized or realistic visions of castles, knights and ladies, tournaments and chivalry, and so on. Some are moved by the fervor and certainty expressed in religious texts from a time of more absolute faith. Many have pointed out New Age and minimalist connections to certain styles of medieval music, especially as presented by certain performers and recording companies. But perhaps the best reason is simply that there is so much music from the Middle Ages that is good music. Old does not mean inferior or less sophisticated. There is a strength and power in these tunes, words, and forms that still speaks directly to us. This concert program spans almost 400 years of Christmas music, from the late 11th century in southern France to the 15thcentury in England. A great variety of musical styles are represented here, learned and rustic, complex and engagingly simple. Yet these pieces all have the telling of the Christmas story in common. It is striking, for instance, that a 14th-century lauda from Florence can appeal to us in some of the same ways as a later carol from England. Almost all of the works you will hear, both instrumental and sung, are directly connected to Advent or Christmas itself. As is our custom in Christmas concerts, we have rounded out the program of carols and liturgical pieces with a few instrumental selections which seem to fit the spirit of the season. We hope the result is a pleasing sort of international musical smorgasbord, a holiday buffet for the ears. Natus est Rex and Noster cetus psallat laetus are 11th-century vers, nonliturgical religious songs that survive in a manuscript from the great library of the Abbey of St. Martial in Limoges in south-central France. This area, home to the first troubadours, was so important in the development of secular song in vernacular that its major role in Latin song and early polyphony is often not realized. How these pieces were performed and in what context is an open question. They may have been sung by monks for recreation or as additions to liturgical services. It is amazing how many of the St. Martial texts refer to “harmonia” and “symphonia,” suggesting the use of instruments and simple polyphony in performance. The second of our two vers is polyphonic: the first line of music creates a two-part texture with the second line, the third with the fourth, and so on. The rest of the music in our first group is from a 6

manuscript preserved at the Cistercian convent of Santa Maria la Real de Las Huelgas, a wealthy convent in Burgos, Spain sponsored by the royal family. The convent had a choir of up to one hundred nuns in the 13th century, and it is very likely that this manuscript containing almost two hundred works was intended for performance by the women of the convent. The manuscript contains a couple of pieces which apparently served as exercises for the practice of sight-singing by the nuns. Although it was compiled around 1300, the Las Huelgas codex is an anthology of earlier music, some as old as the 12th century. Many pieces in this large source belong to the French and particularly Parisian repertory of the 13th century, but there are numerous examples of native Spanish work as well. One interesting thing about the Las Huelgas Codex is that it is written in much less ambiguous notation than most earlier sources containing similar music. Although there is a substantial amount of monophonic song in the manuscript, all of our examples in this performance are polyphonic, and demonstrate the powerful and beautiful effects their composers could achieve with very limited means. The first two English pieces performed here are not really Christmas pieces at all. The early 13th-century lyric song Miri it is is one of the few surviving examples of English song from the time of the trouvères and one of the earliest songs in English that we have. The connection to the French tradition is clear because it survives on a single damaged manuscript page with two French songs. The haunting melody and text lamenting the approach of winter have made it a favorite of ours for many years. Unfortunately, only one strophe has survived; like all trouvère songs it must have had several. In excelsus numine is another old Consort favorite. It is a motet in honor of St. Thomas of Canterbury, and its radiant, luminous quality lends itself to this Christmas performance. Angelus ad virginem, or Gabriel, fram heven-kinge, in addition to being an Advent song, has the distinction of being the one piece of music that has a direct association with Geoffrey Chaucer. The dandy young scholar in the Miller’s Tale sings it to the accompaniment of a psaltery—a harp-like instrument—in order to charm his lady visitors. There are several surviving versions, and five English verses, all of which will be heard in this performance. The following three pieces (the “untexted duos”) are preserved in rhythmic modal notation without texts. They have always been presumed to be instrumental works, probably dances. The fact that they are virtually indistinguishable from parts of texted conducti of the time encourages some of us to look to the large conductus repertoire as a way to extend the very limited surviving body of medieval instrumental music. The next song, Edi beo thu, hevene-queene, is a lovely example of cantus gemellus, or twin song. In this style, the cheerful English disregard for the continental adherence to Pythagorian consonances (unison, fourth, fifth and octave) is bountifully apparent, since the harmonies are almost entirely sweet-sounding thirds and sixths. The Welsh/Norman historian Giraldus (c.1146–c. 1223) noted that this was a Viking style: “it was from the Danes and the Norwegians, by whom these parts were more frequently invaded… that they contracted this peculiarity of singing.” The last piece in our 13th-century English group is one of the very few instrumental works from medieval England that we have. This engaging monophonic tune is an estampie, like all surviving medieval dances. Italian music seems always, in every period, to exhibit a gift for pure melody and beautiful, singable lines. This is certainly apparent in our 7

Italian selections. Although we usually think of 14th-century music as predominantly polyphonic, it is worth noting that polyphony was the exception rather than the rule in most churches in Italy during this time. It was cultivated only by a very small circle of musicians. The instrumentally performed works in this group are from the very few late 14th-century Italian sources of liturgical polyphony and show a decided French influence. The opening Benedicamus Domino is in a style more appropriate to the 13th century, and probably does date form that period. Paolo’s setting of the same text is the only one of our polyphonic selections written in the style of Italian madrigals of the time. The Kyrie and Egardus’s Gloria are much more like French mass movements. The sung tunes in this group are laude. Melodically, these songs seem to reveal the influence of the troubadours, Gregorian chant, and perhaps folk song. These songs were preserved in books called laudarios. There were hundreds of laudarios compiled by the lay members of the religious societies of the merchant classes in Tuscan and Umbrian towns. However, only two such books survive with musical notation. Laude are interesting because they are urban and middle class, part of the medieval world that we rarely glimpse in terms of musical practices. The Florence Laudario, which contains versions of the songs we perform here, belonged to the Company of Santo Spirito, who met in the church of Santo Spirito, an Augustinian convent church. The company sponsored their own quasi-liturgical services at the altar there complete with devotional images, candles, processions, prayers, a short sermon by one of the host monks, and, above all, laude singing. A soloist (often a paid professional singer) would sing the verses with the entire confraternity joining in on the refrains. At larger laudese companies in Florence, instruments would also participate; vielles, rebecs, lute, harp, and organ are mentioned. Exactly what the instruments played is open to question, of course, as it is with all medieval song. In the case of the laude we are certain that they did accompany the singing, at least in some confraternities. All in all, the manuscript is an indication of the cosmopolitan urban musical culture of the mercantile classes in early 14th-century Florence. In early 15th-century England, the Church had by no means completely succeeded in its struggle against native paganism. Especially among the common people, customs and beliefs from the old religion were still maintained. The medieval Church dealt with this problem in many ways. Some customs, such as the hanging of wreaths of mistletoe and ivy, were simply absorbed and became integral parts of popular Christianity. To reach the largely illiterate masses, however, the Church had to use every possible attraction. Important feasts, especially Christmas, were made as elaborate and eye-catching as possible, with colorful processions and much music to ornament the liturgy. The first Christmas carols have their origins here. Their basic purpose was to involve the people in the Church through instructive texts, beautiful melodies, and dance-like rhythms. The word carole in previous centuries referred to a dance song, and that character still seems present in many of these 15th-century examples. The form of these carols, with their alternation of a burden (a refrain) and several strophes, points to their origins in the earlier dance songs. At any rate, the anonymous composers of these carols certainly must have achieved their aims. The simple, warm beauty and lively motion of these songs perfectly capture a holiday spirit that has not changed since the 15th century. —Robert Eisenstein 8

TEXTS Verses are occasionally omitted in performance.

Natus est Rex Natus est Rex de virgine Maria Mundi solus eterne vita via Quem peperit intacta mater pia.

The King is born of the Virgin Mary Deliverance of the world, the way of eternal life Whom the pious mother brought forth.

O quanta gaudia Dant in ecclesia Hec natalitia Christi presentia Et eius gratia.

O what great joy Goes forth in the Church For this birth Through Christ’s presence And his grace.

Dat gaudia Celestia Sunt pervia In patria Patet via Perfidia Superbia Potentia Hostis frangitur.

He gives joy In the divine way They are on the way To the land of the Father The way lies open: Treachery, Arrogance, Power, The enemy is crushed.

Introitus Est reditus Rex genitus Humanitus Dat additus Et perditus Expositus Ad genitus Homo salvitur.

Entering Is restoring The King, born In the human way Gives And takes away Freely To humanity Man is set free.

Noster cetus psallat letus Noster cetus psallat letus Voce simul consona, Jesu Christi gloriosa Recolens natalicia.

Let our congregation sing With consonant voices Jesus Christ’s glorious Day of birth.

Qui de celis condescendens In virginis uterum In eadem carna sumpta Visitavit seculum.

Descending from heaven Into a Virgin’s womb Taking flesh in her He visited this world.

Felix puer, cuius mater Incorrupta parere Et post partum virgo manens Meruit existere.

Happy child, whose mother Having incorruptibly given birth And afterwards remained a virgin Was thought worthy of this.

Hic est enim, germen ade Qui venit redimere. Et ac celi sede mundo Corruit reducere.

For he is the Son of God Who came to redeem the world He came down to return the world To its heavenly home.

Ad ipsius ergo laude Omnis nostra concio Exultanto regi regum Benedicat Domino.

Therefore to his praise Let our entire congregation Exult the King of Kings Bless the Lord. 9

Psallat chorus Psallat chorus in novo carmine, Organico sum modulamine, Magne pater, in tuo nomine. Custodi nos sub tuo tegmine Domine Nicholae, tuo precamine, Angelica cum multitudine Nos colloca sanctorum agmine, Quod nobis aptatur.

Let the choir sing a new song With the organ’s melody. Great Father, in your name Guard us under your protection, Lord. Nicholas, by your prayer With the angelic multitude Place us with the blessed Which is prepared for us.

Miri it is Miri it is while sumer ilast With fugheles song; Oc nu neheth windes blast And weder strong. Ei! Ei! What this niht is long! And ich, with wel michel wrong, Soregh and murn and fast.

Merry it is while summer lasts With birds’ song. But now nears the wind’s blast And weather strong. Oh, oh! How this night is long! And I with very much wrong, Sorrow and mourn and fast.

Angelus ad virginem (Gabriel fram heven-kinge) Gabriel, fram heven-kinge sent to the maide sweete, Broute hir blisful tiding And fair he gan hir greete: “Heil be thu, ful of grace aright! For Godes son, this heven-light, for mannes love wil man bicome and take Fles of thee, maide bright, manken free for to make Of sen and devles might.”

Gabriel, from heaven’s King was sent to the sweet maid, He brought her blissful tidings And He did greet her: “Hail to you, full of grace, hail right now! For God’s Son, this heavenly light, for man’s love will become a man and take Flesh of thee, bright maid, To make mankind free Of sin and the Devil’s might.”

Mildelich him gan andswere the dilde maide thanne: “Whichewise sold ich bere child withute manne?” Th’angle hir seid, “Ne dred tee nout; Thurw th’oligast sas been iwrout this ilche thing warof tiding ich bringe; Al manken wurth ibout thurw thine sweet childinge And ut of pine ibrout.”

Meekly answering him the mild maid said: “In which way should I bear a child without a man?” The angel said to her, “Do not fear for yourself, Through the Holy Ghost it will be done this very thing news of which I bring; All mankind will be redeemed through your sweet child-bearing And from pain delivered.”

Wan the maiden understood and th’angels wordes herde, Midelich with milde mood To th’angle hie andswerde: “Ure lordes thewemaide iwis ich am that heer aboven is. Anentis me fulfurthed be thi sawe that ich, sith his wil is, a maid, withute lawe, of moder have the bliss.”

When the maiden understood and heard the angel’s words Mildly in a gentle mood to the angel she answered: “Our Lord’s bond-woman I am, of He who is above. As regards me Let it be fulfilled What you say That is, since His will is so, that a maid, against the law of nature, shall have the happiness of motherhood.”

Th’angel went awei mid than al ut of hire sighte, Hire womb aris gan thurw tholigastes mighte. In hir we Crist bilok anon, Sooth God, sooth man in fles and bon, and of hir fles ibore wes at time. Warthurw us kam good won; He bout us ut of pine And let him for us slon.

With that the angel went away out of her sight, Her womb began to swell up through the Holy Ghost’s might. In her Christ was enclosed, True God, true man in flesh and bone, and of her flesh He was born at term. Whereby good hope comes to us; He redeemed us from torment And allowed Himself to be slain for us.

Maiden-moder makeles, of milce ful ibunde, Bid for us him that tee ches, at wam thu grace funde, That he forgive us sen and wrake And clene of evri gelt us make and heven-blis, wan ur time is to sterve, Us give, for pine sake, him so heer for to seve That he us to him take.

Peerless Virgin Mother, fully endowed with mercy, Pray for us to Him that chose thee, Whom thy grace found, That He will forgive us sin and evil-doing And make us clean of every guilt And heaven’s bliss when it is our time to die Give to us, for thy sake, the chance to serve Him here That he may take us to himself.

Edi be thu, heven-queene Edi be thu, heven-queene Folks froovre and engles blis, Maid unwemmed, moder cleene Sich in world non other nis. On thee hit is weleth-seen Of alle wimmen thu hast the pris. Mi sweete levdi, heer mi been And rew of me yif thi will is.

Blessed are you, queen of heaven, people’s comfort and angels’ bliss, Mother unblemished, maiden pure, such in this world none other is. It is clear for all to see, of all women, you have the prize. My sweetest lady, hear my prayer, have pity on me if your will it is.

Thu astiye so dairewe Deleth from the derke night. Of thee sprong a leeme newe; Al this world hit hath ilight. Nis no maid of thine hewe, So fair, so scheene, so rudi, so bright; Mi levdi sweet, of me thu rew And have merci of thi knight.

You ascend as the ray of dawn which rises out of the darkest night. From you springs new illumination, bathing the whole creation in light. There is no maid of your complexion, fair and beautiful, fresh and bright. Sweet lady, on me have compassion and have mercy on me, your knight.

Sprunge blostm of one roote, Th’oli gost thee rest upon; That was for mankinnes boote And her soul aleese for on. Levdi milde, soft and swoot, Ich crie merci, ich am this mon, To honed bothen and to foot On alle wise that ich kon.

Blossom sprung from a single root, the Holy Ghost made you heavenly queen. That was for the good of all people, for our eternal souls to redeem. Lady, mild, soft and sweet, I cry for mercy, I am your man, Both hand and foot and all completely, serving you in all ways that I can.

Erth art tu to goode seede, On thee lighte th’evendew; Of thee sprong thet eci bleede, Th’oli gost hin on thee sew. Brung us ut of kar, of dreede That Eve bitterlich us brew; Thu schalt us into hevne leede; Wel sweet is us thet ilke dew.

You are earth’s goodly seed, on you falls the heavenly dew. From you springs the blessed fruit the Holy Ghost has sown in you. You bring us out of care and dread that Eve so bitterly for us brewed. You shall us into heaven lead, so sweet is that heavenly dew. 13

Moder ful of thewes heende, Maide dreigh and wel itaught, Ich am in this luvebeende And to thee is al mi draught. Thu me schild, ye from the feend, As thu art free and wilt and maught, And help me to mi lives eend And make with thi sune saught.

Mother, full of noble virtue, maiden so patient, lady so wise. I am in your love now bonded, and for you is all my desire. Shield me from the fiend of hell, as you are noble, and may and will Help me till my life is ended, reconcile me to your Son, His will.

Cristo è nato Cristo è nato et humanato Per salvar la gente K’era perduta e descaduta Nel primer parente.

Christ is born and become man In order to save the people Who were lost since their first Parents had fallen.

Nato è Cristo per fare aquisto De noi peccatori K’eram partiti e dispartiti Dai suoi servidori; Perché fallenti et non serventi Ma diservidori Eramo facti, da cului tracti K’è tutor fallenti.

Christ is born to Ransom us sinners Who had departed and were Separated from his servants; Because we failed you and Did not serve you, but had Become deserters, drawn by him Who still transgresses.

Cristo è nato...

Christ is born...

In Bellem nat’è’l signor beato De virgine pure; Annuntiato, prefigurato Fu da la scriptura; Mediatore e redemptore Directo et verace, Re de gram pace k’a ciascun piace, Ki a vera mente.

In Bethlehem the blessed Lord Was born of the pure virgin: he was announced and prophesied In the scriptures: The mediator and redeemer, Upright and true, The king of peace who pleases Everyone of true understanding.

Cristo è nato...

Christ is born...

Lo fresco gillio bianco e vermiglio Nat’è’n questo mondo Per dar consiglio de fugir piglio De quel gran profundo; Degno venire per noi sofrire La morte dannosa La qual gioiosa era gravosa A noi primeramente.

The fresh white and red lily Is born into this world In order to counsel how to flee From that great abyss; He deigned to come to suffer for us That painful death, that youthful death Which for us in the beginning Was most grievous.

Cristo è nato...

Christ is born...

Da ciel venne messo novello Da ciel venne messo novello Ciò fu l’angel Gabriello.

A new messenger came from Heaven; He was the angel Gabriel.

L’angelo fue messaggio a Dio, Ben cominciòe et ben finìo; Saviamente, senza rio, Anuntiò quell fior novello:

The angel was God’s messenger; He began well and finished well; Wisely and without error He announced to that budding flower,