ARR. SARAH QUARTEL
PROGRAM NOTES
Notes by Dr. Leah Weinberg
Alicia Rigsby, piano
SING LULLABY
HERBERT HOWELLS (1892 - 1983)
(from Three Carol-Anthems)
A CHRISTMAS LULLABY THE THREE KINGS HUSH! MY DEAR
DAN FORREST (B. 1978) HEALEY WILLAN (1880 - 1968) GABRIEL JACKSON (B. 1962)
Emma Tebbe, mezzo-soprano; Matt Weissenbuehler, baritone
ARR. ELAINE HAGENBERG
Alicia Rigsby, piano
CAROLS AND LULLABIES: CHRISTMAS IN THE SOUTHWEST
CONRAD SUSA (1935 - 2013)
Janet Harriman, harp; Alex Komodore, guitar; Michael Tetreault, marimba
I.
OH, MI BELEN !
II.
EL DESEMBRE CONGELAT
III.
ALEGRIA Ryan D. Garrison & Adam Cave, baritones
IV.
A LA NANITA NANA
V.
LAS POSADAS Zachariah Smith, tenor; Scott Horowitz & John Bartley, baritones; Jordan Black, bass
VI.
CAMPANA SOBRE CAMPANA
VII. EN BELEN TOCAN A FUEGO Sarah Harrison, mezzo-soprano; Christianna Sullins, soprano; Matthew Eschliman, tenor
VIII. EL NOI DE LA MARE Sara Michael, soprano; Laura Tribby, mezzo-soprano; Keith Harrison, tenor; Scott Horowitz, baritone
IX.
CHIQUIRRIQUITIN
X.
EL RORRO
ENCORES: SING WE NOW OF CHRISTMAS PEACE, PEACE
ARR. FRED PRENTICE RICK & SYLVIA POWELL (ARR. FRED BOCK)
The Wexford Carol, sometimes known by its first verse “Good people all this Christmas time,” is a traditional Irish Christmas carol originating from Enniscorthy in County Wexford. The Enniscorthy composer and musicologist William Grattan Flood popularized the tune in 1928 when he transcribed the carol from a local singer and had it published in The Oxford Book of Carols. This 2021 arrangement by Canadian composer Sarah Quartel (b. 1982) offers a refreshing take on an old carol by introducing a sparkling piano part to enrich the modal harmonies of the original tune. The English composer, organist, and teacher Herbert Howells CH CBE (1892–1983) was a prominent f i gure in England’s modern musical renaissance alongside contemporaries Arthur Bliss, Arthur Benjamin, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Unable to serve in the First World War due to complications from Graves’ disease, Howells instead assisted the Westminster Cathedral choir director R.R. Terry in editing the Latin Tudor repertoire for a series of scholarly editions. This work, supported by the Carnegie Trust, provided Howells an opportunity to absorb the English Renaissance style that is readily apparent in the Three CarolAnthems he composed between 1918 and 1920. Howells and Terry hoped to restore elements of sixteenth-century polyphony to twentieth-century English church music, a meeting of periods and styles that characterizes the lilting third carol-anthem “Sing Lullaby.” Of his 2011 piece “A Christmas Lullaby,” American composer Dan Forrest (b. 1978) writes, “When my ‘A Basque Lullaby’ was first published, many choirs wanted to incorporate its style into Christmas concerts, and asked for a set of Christmas lyrics for it. I rarely, if ever, re-text a musical setting, but in this case, the music really seemed to belong at Christmas, and some choirs were adapting their own lyrics for it, with less sophistication than I would have preferred. Since Charles Anthony Silvestri had re-texted Eric Whitacre’s ‘Sleep’ not too many years prior, I asked him to re-text this music for me. We collaborated on the text, making it fit the music, via a lengthy Facebook message conversation late one night in 2010, and a new Christmas piece was born.”
Born and raised in England, the Anglo-Canadian organist and composer James Healey Willan CC (1880–1968) is best known for his long and illustrious expatriate career in Toronto. Dubbed “the Dean of Canadian composers,” Willan served at two of Toronto’s most prominent churches, St. Paul’s Bloor Street and the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, as well as teaching at the Toronto Conservatory and the University of Toronto. The majority of Willan’s extensive output is sacred in nature, including anthems, hymns, and mass settings. His 1928 Christmas motet “Three Kings,” which appropriately features a choral men’s trio, focuses on the arrival of the three kings at the manger in Bethlehem, where a weary gate porter invites them to “Come in, come in, ye kings, and kiss the feet of God.” The Bermuda-born English composer Gabriel Jackson (b. 1962) is a three-time winner of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors British Composer Award and served as associate composer to the BBC Singers 2010– 2013. His appropriately hymn-like Christmas song “Hush! my dear” sets the words of the poem “Cradle Song” by the seventeenth-century English hymn writer Isaac Watts, of “Joy to the World” fame. The Sussex Carol, sometimes referred to by its first line “On Christmas night all Christians sing,” is a popular English Christmas carol whose words were first published by the Irish bishop Luke Wadding in Small Garland of Pious and Godly Songs (1684). Choral composer Elaine Hagenberg’s 2018 arrangement of the carol captures the joyful character of the original tune, enriched by the addition of piano or chamber orchestra accompaniment. Born and raised outside Pittsburgh, the American composer Conrad Susa (1935–2013) attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Juilliard School before embarking on a career first as composer-in-residence at San Diego’s
To make a general contribution to Kantorei, text “Kantorei” to 44321 Thank you!
PROGRAM NOTES Old Globe Theater (1959–1994), then as a professor of composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1988 until his death. Susa is best known for his five operas, as well as his incidental music for plays, and choral works. Susa’s Carols and Lullabies: Christmas in the Southwest (1992), commissioned by Philip Brunelle and the Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota, is a collection of ten songs for choir, harp, guitar, and marimba that celebrates Spanishlanguage Christmas carols from Europe and the Americas. At the time of the work’s publication, Susa wrote: “Four or five years ago, Philip Brunelle suggested I write him a companion to [Benjamin] Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols. To a composer, this tempting offer was another way of asking
“How’s about writing us a hit?” After several years of me writhing in doubt, a friend, Gary Holt, showed me a collection of traditional Spanish carols he had sung as a boy in Arizona. Excited, I juggled them around to form a narrative. I noted their many connections with Renaissance music along with their homey, artful simplicity. Finally, the overriding image of a Southwestern piñata party for the new baby led me to add guitar and marimba to Britten’s harp and to compose connective music and totally re-conceive the carols.” The carols and lullabies originate from various countries and regions, including pronunciation differences. The second and eighth songs, in particular, “El Desembre Congelat” and “El Noi de la Mare,” come from the Catalonian region of Spain and are written in French-influenced Catalán. Notes by Dr. Leah Weinberg
Joel M. Rinsema joined Kantorei in 2014, becoming the second conductor in its history. During his tenure, Kantorei has experienced tremendous growth of its audiences, nearly tripled its budget size, and launched an ambitious recording strategy. A frequent collaborator and champion of new works for chorus, Joel has commissioned and premiered work of many of today’s leading composers including Kim André Arnesen, Mason Bates, René Clausen, Ola Gjeilo, Jocelyn Hagen, Mark Hayes, Cecilia McDowall, David Montoya, Sarah Quartel, Jake Runestad and Eric Whitacre. In the summer of 2018, Joel conducted the Central American premiere of Ola Gjeilo’s “Dreamweaver” in Guatemala City and Antigua, Guatemala with Capella Cantorum de Guatemala. Joel is a passionate advocate for the professional choral art form, and he frequently consults with other choral arts organizations around the country. Because of his leadership in his field, he received the Louis Botto Award for “Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal” from Chorus America, the industry’s advocacy, research, and leadership development organization for choruses, choral leaders, and singers.
JOEL M. RINSEMA Managing Artistic Director
He is an accomplished conductor of major works for choir and orchestra and was one of eighteen conductors chosen nationally through audition to participate in master classes and workshops presented by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association and Chorus America. As a tenor soloist, Joel performed across the United States, in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Joel is also the Director of Music and Technology in Worship at First Plymouth Congregational Church in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado and served as the North American Choral Promotion Manager for Oxford University Press based in Oxford, England from 2017 to 2020. He holds music degrees from Arizona State and Whitworth Universities and is a member of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammys), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and Colorado Music Educators Association (CMEA). Joel came to Kantorei from the Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Chorale. Throughout his 23-year tenure with the Phoenix Chorale, he served in nearly every capacity with the organization including his last 15 years as President & CEO and Assistant Conductor. He negotiated an ongoing recording contract with the prestigious U.K.based Chandos Records, and Phoenix Chorale recordings earned a total of eight Grammy nominations and two Grammy wins during his tenure. Joel appears on all of the Phoenix Chorale recordings and was a soloist on the Grammy Award-winning “Spotless Rose: Hymn to the Virgin Mary.” In addition to his work with the Phoenix Chorale, Joel served as the Director of Music at Church of the Beatitudes United Church of Christ in Phoenix for 15 years, and was the founding chorus master of the Arizona Musicfest Chorus.
Kantorei is a Denver-based, choral ensemble comprised of volunteer singers under the direction of Artistic Director Joel M. Rinsema. Formed in 1997 under the leadership of six friends and artistic director, Richard Larson Kantorei has established itself as one of the nation’s premier choral ensembles. Our choral artists have studied at schools with strong music programs across the United States such as Baylor University, Brigham Young University, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, St. Olaf College, Wartburg College, and Westminster Choir College. Kantorei’s singers reside throughout the greater Denver area. Some serve as choral music educators, church choir conductors, and vocal instructors. Others are doctors, social workers, optometrists, counselors, clinical psychologists, accountants, realtors –all brought together in weekly rehearsals for shared artistic excellence and community. Kantorei has performed for major choral conventions across the U.S., toured the world, and has commissioned and premiered new choral works from such renowned composers as Kim André Arnesen, Eric William Barnum, Abbie Betinis, René Clausen, Ola Gjeilo, Jocelyn Hagen, Sarah Quartel, Jake Runestad, Joshua Shank, and Eric Whitacre. Kantorei has released two recordings on the Naxos label. “Sing, Wearing the Sky” (2020) choral music of Jake Runestad reached the #3 best-selling classical album on iTunes, #4 on the Traditional Classical Billboard Charts, and the top ten in both the best-selling classical album and new classical release categories on Amazon. “Infinity: Choral Works of Kim André Arnesen” (2018) climbed to the #2 best-selling classical album on iTunes, #6 on the Traditional Classical Billboard Charts and #19 on the overall Classical Billboard charts. Santa Barbara Music Publishing Inc., publishes the Kantorei Choral series.
Kantorei’s mission is “to elevate the human experience through choral excellence.”
“...An ideally balanced ensemble... In total a much recommended release.” -David Denton, David’s Review Corner, August 2020 (Read the full review here)
“That he writes well for singers is enthusiastically proved by the all-volunteer Denver-based Kantorei choral ensemble and eight instrumentalists, and some full-blooded recordings.” -Laurence Vittes, Gramophone, October 2020 (Read the full review here or here)
“…Always engaging and colorful…sung with depth and conviction by Kantorei.” – Karl W. Nehring, Classical Candor, December 2020 (Read the full review here)
A soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra soloist, his Spring 2019 European solo concert tour included performances and master classes in Greece, Turkey, France, and Scotland. Previous tours have included the Dominican Republic, Victoria Island BC, Portugal, and all over the US. A versatile musician, he has performed with classical, steel string, Hawaiian slide guitar, theorbo, mandolin, and as tenor banjo soloist with many of the finest orchestras, chamber choirs and Opera companies across the U.S.
THE CHOIR SOPRANO
ALTO
TENOR
BASS
Mary Christ Kimberly Dunninger Christina Graham Heather Gunnerson Stacie Hanson Shannon Lemmon-Elrod Sara Michael * Martina Richardson Alicia Rigsby ◊ Pearl Rutherford Christianna Sullins Laura Tribby
Emily Alexander Lindsey Aquilina Lizabeth Barnett Lyn Berry-Helmlinger Sarah Harrison * Melissa Menter Erin Meyerhoff Jennifer Moore Tegan Palmer Allison Pasternak Emma Tebbe Andrea Ware-Medina Jane Wright
Benjamin Corwyn Joshua Corwyn Kai Berry-Helmlinger * Matthew Eschliman Keith Ferguson Mason France Keith Harrison Bryce Kennedy Samuel Low Alex Menter Jonathan Meyer Zachariah Smith John Wright
John Bartley Michael Bizzaro * Jordan Black Michael Boender Adam Cave Garth Criswell Ryan D. Garrison Scott Horowitz Brad Jackson Brad Larson John Ludwig Marc Petersen Kirk Schjodt John Schaak Griffin Sutherland Matt Weissenbuehler
* Section leader ◊ Collaborative Pianist
ALEX KOMODORE Featured Guitarist
STAFF MEMBERS Sarah Harrison
Assistant Conductor
Photo courtesy of Alex Komodore
Alicia Rigsby
Accompanist, Collaborative Pianist
Sara Michael
Business Manager
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jennifer Moore
Matthew Gierke
Leslie Britton
Melissa Menter
President
Vice President
Treasurer Secretary
MEMBERS AT LARGE John Bartley
Keith Ferguson
Judy Bloomberg Schenkein
J. Scott Pusey
Alex Komodore is a Denver-based virtuoso guitarist. His powerful interpretations, formidable technique, and natural musicianship have won unanimous praise from many prominent international critics, audiences, and the world’s finest guitarists. A much sought-after master teacher, Komodore has been the guitar coordinator at Metropolitan State University of Denver since 1985, where he is a Full Professor of Music. He has judged in many of the world’s most prestigious Guitar Festivals and Competitions, including the Portland International Guitar competition, Denver International Guitar Competitions, Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival, and Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Guitar Competitions. He has been invited to teach and perform at many international conservatories throughout the world.
A guitar prodigy at an early age, Komodore performed in New York’s Town Hall at the age of 11, his first solo recital in New York City’s St. Paul’s Chapel at the age of 16, and an appearance at the United Nations at 19. His First Prize in the 1985 MTNA Collegiate Artists Guitar Competition resulted in subsequent appearances on National Public Radio and PBS Television broadcasts. John Dileberto of NPR Echoes gave his 1990 CD Redstone with flutist Rod Garnett a rare “highest rating”, which also earned the coveted “Best of Westword” award for best classical recording of 1990. His 1994 solo debut recording Passport won praises from several of the world’s most prominent guitarists, including Christopher Parkening, who hailed his cd as “Terrific!”, and Grammy Award Winner David Russell remarked, “This CD is played with beautiful atmosphere and great skill.” His 16 CD credits include the Etherean, Folk Era, Delos, Salt, and Poco a Poco labels, with heavy global distribution, including worldwide airplay at the 1992 Summer Olympics. His newest solo recording, “Remembering” was released in 2016 - with the hope of helping all people grieving the loss of their loved ones. Komodore was honored to host the Guitar Foundation of America 2016 International Convention and Competition held on the MSU Denver campus in 2016. This event is the largest and most prestigious classical guitar festival in the world and brought 600 guitar enthusiasts from 35 countries to Denver. As the founder of the “Guitar Celebrations at MSU Denver”, since 1985 he has hosted many of the finest classical guitarists in the world.
Janet Harriman began her harp studies with her mother, Jean Harriman. She continued her harp studies with Alice Chalifoux while she attended the College of Wooster, the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Salzedo harp Colony. Harriman has performed as soloist, chamber player, opera and orchestral member in Ohio, Florida, Georgia, New York, Colorado and internationally in South America, Europe and Asia. She is currently principal harpist with the Central City Opera Festival, a position she has held since 1993, and performs regularly as Principal Harpist with Opera Colorado and the Boulder Philharmonic. She is also the instructor at the Harp Studio at the University of Colorado Boulder.
JANET HARRIMAN Featured Harpist
She is Co-Founding Director of Scale the Summit, a summer music program that offers educational opportunities for the kids of Summit County. She has been an active board member of the Summit Community Orchestra for over twelve years and currently serves on the board of the Summit Youth Orchestra.
Photo courtesy of Janet Harriman
On sale now at kantorei.org/sing-wearing-the-sky Michael Tetreault holds a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY and a Master of Music Degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London, UK. Michael is currently a member of four professional orchestras in the Rocky Mountain region and is also part of the percussion faculty at the University of Colorado (Boulder). Michael has performed domestically and abroad with many ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Toronto Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Utah Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Roomful of Teeth, Quattro Mani and Alarm Will Sound among many others.
MICHAEL TETREAULT Featured Marimbist
Photo courtesy of Michael Tetreault
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TEXT & TRANSLATIONS Wexford Carol Traditional Irish Good people all, this Christmas time, Consider well and bear in mind What our good God for us has done In sending his beloved son. With Mary holy we should pray To God with love this Christmas Day; In Bethlehem upon that morn There was a blessed Messiah born. Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep; To whom God’s angels did appear, Which put the shepherds in great fear. With thankful heart and joyful mind The shepherds went the babe to find, And as God’s angel had foretold, They did our Saviour Christ behold. There were three wisemen from afar, Directed by a glorious star, And on they wandered night and day Until they came where Jesus lay. And when they came unto that place Where our beloved Messiah lay,
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They humbly cast them at his feet With gifts of gold and incense sweet. Good people all, this Christmas time Consider well and bear in mind What our good God for us has done In sending his beloved son, Blessed child, beloved son.
Sing Lullaby Frederick William Harvey Sing lullaby, sing lullaby, While snow doth [gently] fall, Sing lullaby to Jesus Born in an oxen-stall. Sing lullaby to Jesus, Born now in Bethlehem, The naked blackthorn’s growing To weave His diadem. Sing lullaby, sing lullaby While thickly snow doth fall, Sing lullaby to Jesus The Saviour of all.
A Christmas Lullaby Charles Anthony Silvestri Lullaby, Lullaby, Rest now my darling, Close your eyes, dreaming is nigh. Lullaby, Lullaby, Angel voices softly singing Carols for their newborn King. Lullaby, Lullaby, Whisper and sigh, Lullaby, Lullaby, Lullaby. Lullaby, Lullaby, Silently waiting, All creation greets the Child; Lullaby, Lullaby, Holy Child, fulfill our longing, Our foretold salvation bring. Lullaby, Lullaby, Whisper and sigh, Lullaby, Lullaby, Lullaby.
The Three Kings
Sussex Carol
Laurence Housman
Traditional English
“Who knocks tonight so late?” the weary porter said. Three kings stood at the gate, Each with a crown on head. The serving man bowed down, The inn was full, he knew. Said he, “In all this town Is no fit place for you.” A light the manger lit: There lay the Mother meek. Said they, “This place is fit: Here is the rest we seek!” Come, come. They loosed their latchet strings; So stood they all unshod. Come in, come in, ye Kings! And kiss the feet of God.
On Christmas night all Christians sing, To hear the news the angels bring; News of great joy, news of great mirth, News of our merciful King’s birth. Then why should men on earth be sad, Since our Redeemer made us glad; When from our sin he set us free, All for to gain our liberty. When sin departs before his grace Then life and health come in its place. Angels and men with joy may sing, All for to see the newborn King. All out of darkness we have light, Which made the angels sing this night, “Glory to God in highest heav’n, Now and for evermore,” Amen!
Hush! my dear
Carols and Lullabies: Christmas in the Southwest
From “Cradle Song” by Isaac Watts Hush! my dear, lie still and slumber; Holy angels guard thy bed! Heavenly blessings without number Gently falling on thy head. Soft and easy is thy cradle, Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay When his birth-place was a stable And his softest bed was hay. See the kindly shepherds round him, Telling wonders from the sky! Where they sought him, there they found him, With his Virgin Mother by. May’st thou live to know and fear him, Trust and love him all thy days; Then go dwell for ever near him, See his face and sing his praise!
I. ¡Oh, mi Belén! Biscayan ¡Oh, mi Belén! Llegó tu hora bien amada, ¡oh, mi Belén! La luz que irradias sin cesar, es como un faro que nos guía en nuestra ruta, noche y día. Oh, my Bethlehem! Your well-beloved hour has arrived! The light you shine unceasingly Is like a beacon that guides us On our way, night and day. Oh my Bethlehem!
“Kantorei is a gem in the American choral scene. I love the passion of the singers and the familial quality of the group. They are continually working together to achieve a high level of musicality as well as deepening their personal relationships. I felt so welcomed into their family and this album was a beautiful collaboration in which every moment was handled with such care and such deep, spacious musicality.” -Jake Runestad, Explore Classical Music, August 2020
TEXT & TRANSLATIONS II. El Desembre Congelat Catalonian El desembre congelat, confús es retira. Abril de flors coronat, tot el món admira. Quan en un jardí d’amor neix una divina flor; D ‘una rosa bella, fecunda y poncella. El primer Pare causà la nit tenebrosa. Que a tot el món ofuscà la vista penosa; Mes en una mitja nit, brilla el sol que n’és eixit. D ‘una bella aurora que el cel enamora. El mes de maig ha florit, sense ser encara. Un lliri blanc y polit, de fragrància rara. Que per tot el món se sent, de Llevant fins a Ponent. Tota sa dulrçura i olor, amb ventura. In frozen December, confusion itself retreats It is like April, crowned with flowers, admired by all, When, in a garden of Jove, a divine flower is born Of a beautiful, fruitful, budding rose. The first Father caused the dark night. Which for everyone obscures painful sight. But one midnight, the sun shines without ceasing From a beautiful dawn with which the heavens fall in love. The month of May has flowered, without it being May. A lily white and gentle, of rare fragrance Which everyone senses, from East to West, All its sweetness and bouquet, with great good fortune.
III. Alegría Puerto Rican Hacia Belén se encaminan María con su amante esposo, Llevando en su compañía un Dios todo poderoso. ¡Alegría, alegría, alegría, Alegría, alegría y placer! Que la Virgen va de paso Con su esposo hacia Belén. En cuanto Belén llegaron, Posada al punto pidieron, Nadie los quiso hospedar, Porque tan pobres les vieron.
¡Alegría, alegría, alegría, Alegría, alegría y placer! Que la Virgen va de paso Con su esposo hacia Belén. Los pajarillos del bosque Al ver pasar los esposos Les cantaban melodias Con sus trinos armoniosos. ¡Alegría, alegría, alegría, Alegría, alegría y placer! Que la Virgen va de paso Con su esposo hacia Belén. Towards Bethlehem Mary and her loving husband set off Bringing along an all-powerful God. Joy,joy,joy, Joy, joy and pleasure! That the Virgin goes With her husband towards Bethlehem. Just as soon as they arrived in Bethlehem They asked around for lodgings But no one wanted to put them up Because they looked so poor. Joy, joy, joy, Joy, joy and pleasure! That the Virgin goes With her husband towards Bethlehem. On seeing them pass by, The little birds of the forest Were singing them melodies With their harmonious trills. Joy, joy, joy, Joy, joy and pleasure! That the Virgin goes With her husband towards Bethlehem.
IV. A la Nanita Nana Spanish Mi Jesús tiene sueño, bendito sea. Fuentecilla que corres clara y sonora, Ruiseñor que en la selva, cantando lloras, Callad mientras la cuna se balancea.
My Jesus is tired, blessed may he be. Little fountain, you run clear and resonant Nightingale, in the forest, singing, you weep Hush while the cradle is rocked.
V. Las Posadas Spanish ¿Quieres que te quite, mi bien, de las pajas? ¿Quieres que te adoren todos las pastores? A rurru, niño chiquito, ya está arrulladito el niño. Mi querido Padre, mi Dias y señor, Que sufriste alegre del frío su rigor A rurru, niño chiquito, ya está arrulladito el niño. Shall I take you from the straw, my treasure? Shall all the shepherds come adore you? Coo coo, little child, the child has fallen asleep. My dear Father, my God and Lord, who gladly suffered the harshness of the cold. Coo coo, little child, the child has fallen to sleep.
VI. Campana sobre Campana Andalusian ¡Campana sobre campana, Y sobre campana una! Asómate a la ventana, Y verás al Niño en la cuna. Belén, campanas de Belén Que los ángeles tocan ¿Que nuevas me traéis? Recogido tu rebaño, ¿Adónde vas pastor cito? Voy a llevar al portal requesón, manteca y vino. Si aún las estrellas alumbran, ¿Pastor, dónde quieres ir? Voy al portal por si el Niño Con Él me deja dormir. Bell after bell After bell! Come to the window, And you’ll see the Child in His cradle. Bethlehem, bells of Bethlehem Which the angels play
What news do you bring me? Now that your flock is gathered, Where are you going, little shepherd? I’ll carry to the manger farmers’ cheese, butter, and wine. If the stars still shine Where do you want to go, shepherd? I go to the manger in case the Child Lets me sleep beside Him.
VII. En Belén Tocan A Fuega Castilian En Belén tocan a fuego, Del portal salen las llamas. Porque dicen que ha nacido El Redentor del las almas. Brincan y bailan los peces en el río, Brincan y bailan de ver a Dios nacido. Brincan y bailan los peces en el agua, Brincan y bailan de ver nacida del alba. En un portal de Belén Nació un clavel encarnado Que por redimir el mundo Se ha vuelto lirio morado. La Virgen lava pafinales Y los tiende en el romero. Los pajarillos cantaban Y el agua se iba riendo. In Bethlehem they light a fire, The flames leave the manger. Because they say he is born, The Redeemer of Souls. The fish in the river are leaping and dancing, They leap and they dance to see God born. The fish in the water are leaping and dancing, They jump and dance to see the dawn born. In a manger in Bethlehem A carnation incarnate was born Who to redeem the world has become a lily stained with purple. The Virgin washes swaddling clothes And hangs them on the rosemary bush. The little birds were singing And the water ran laughing.
TEXT & TRANSLATIONS VIII. El Noi de la Mare Catalonian ¿Qué Ii darem a n’el Noi de la Mare? ¿Qué li darem que li sápiga bo? Li darem panses en unes balances, Li darem figues en un paneró. ¿Qué li darem a n’el Noi de la Mare? ¿Qué li darem a l’hermos Infantó? Panses i figues anous i olives, Panses i figues i mel i mató. Tam patantam que les figues son verdes, Tam patantam que ja madurarán. Si no maduren el día de Pasqua, Madurarán en el día del Ram. What shall we give to the Mother’s Child? What shall we give that will delight him? We’ll give him raisins in baskets, We’ll give him figs in a hamper. What shall we give to the Mother’s Child? What shall we give to the beautiful infant? Raisins and figs and walnuts and olives, Raisins and figs and honey and curd. Even if the figs are green Even so, they’ll ripen. If they don’t ripen on Palm Sunday They’ll ripen on Easter.
IX. Chiquirriquitín Andalusian ¡Chiquirriquitín, Metidito entre pajas, Ay, del chiquirriquitín! Queridito del alma. Por debajo del arco del portaliño Se descubre a María, José y el Niño. ¡Chiquirriquitín, Metidito entre pajas, Ay, del chiquirriquitín! Queridito del alma. Entre el buey y la mula Dios ha nacido, Y en un pobre pesebre lo han recogido.
YOUR DONATIONS & SUPPORT Little baby boy! Placed in the straw, Oh, the little baby boy! Tiny beloved of the soul. Under the arch of the little manger Mary, Joseph and the Child are revealed. Little baby boy! Placed in the straw, Oh, the little baby boy! Tiny beloved of the soul. Between an ox and a mule God has been born And they’ve placed him in a lowly manger.
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X. El Rorro Mexican A la rurru, niño chiquito. Duérmase ya, mi Jesucito. Del elefante hasta el mosquito Guarden silencio, no le hagan ruido. Noche venturoso, noche de alegría. Bendita la dulce, divina María. Coros celestiales, con su dulce acento, Canten la ventura de este nacimiento. A la rurru, little baby boy. Sleep now, my little Jesus. From the elephant to the mosquito Stay silent, don’t disturb Him. Fortunate night, night of joy. Blessed be the sweet, divine Mary. Heavenly choirs, with your sweet accent, Sing of the good fortune of this birth.
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