Mary Garvey's first suggestion ("Mariam et Joseph et infantem positum in precipio") I was not familiar with. I wonder if it is the same as the one mentioned in this article in the Dutch Wikipedia (also in German and Italian, but not in English or Esperanto): Transeamus usque Bethlehem? (Note the correct spelling of "praesepio", ablative of "manger", if googling.)


    Transeamus usque Bethlehem
    et videamus hoc verbum quod factum est.
    Mariam et Joseph et Infantem positum in praesepio.

    Transeamus, audiamus multitudinem
    militiae coelestis laudantium Deum,
    Mariam et Joseph et Infantem
    positum in praesepio.

    Gloria, Gloria in Excelsis Deo.
    Gloria, Gloria et in terra pax hominibus.
    Bonae voluntatis, et in terra pax.
    Transeamus et videamus quod factum est.

The version in the German Wikipedia prefixes a recitative

Nolite timere:
ecce enim evangelizo vobis gaudium magnum, quod erit omni populo:
quia natus est vobis Salvator hodie, qui est Christus Dominus in civitate David.
Et hoc vobis signum:
Invenietis infantem pannis involutum, et positum in praesepio.

to the text, and gives

Gloria in excelsis Deo,
et in terra pax hominibus
bonae voluntatis.

as a choral refrain between the two stanzas beginning with "Transeamus".

Here is a text from CPDL.org: Transeamus usque Bethlehem, which ascribes the work to Schnabel; my impression is the Wikipedia consensus is that it is an anonymous, traditional Silesian song which Schnabel simply transcribed (and then gussied up for choral performance).

Mary, is this the text you're thinking of?

as a