Parson Randall,
If you post the titles/first-lines of the French and German carols on the CD, somebody here can probably provide some illumination on the text.

As far as how faithful to the original text the English "Bring a torch" is, my French isn't all that good either, but here's my best attempt at a very literalistic English translation of the French text from my website. If the English text you've got is similar to those I've seen, it's a pretty good adaptation to the meter of the tune, but it makes no effort to preserve the rhyme scheme, which to my ear is almost half the charm of the carol. The French, as you can see from the spellings at the ends of lines, is very carefully rhymed abbaab; actually the rhyme is better than it looks, because in French the t in plat is silent, and "(f)ort" and "(b)ord" are pronounced identically, as are the endings "-ent" and "-ant". Now, if you have an English version that does preserve this rhyme scheme, please post it so I and others may learn it and use it. The English versions I've been exposed to reduce the rhymes and eliminate the regular scheme.

A torch, Jeannette, Isabelle
A torch, let's run to the cradle
It's Jesus, good people of the hamlet
The Christ is born, Mary's calling
Ah! Ah! Ah! that the mother's beautiful!
Ah! Ah! Ah! that the child is beautiful!

Who comes there knocking in that manner
Who comes there knocking like that
Open up, I've put on a dish
Some good cakes which I've brought here.
Knock! Knock! Knock! open the door to us,
Knock! Knock! Knock! Let's have a big party!

It is wrong when the child is napping
It is wrong to shout so loud
Shush, the two of you above all,
Lest the noise wake Jesus
Hush! hush! hush! he sleeps wondrously!
Hush! hush! hush! see how he sleeps!

Softly into the enclosed stable
Softly come a moment
Come near! How cute Jesus is!
How fair he is, how like a rose!
Do! do! do! that the child rests!
Do! do! do! that he laughs in his sleep!

I'm not sure what the interjection "do" means (I know it in French only as a musical note name, which it clearly is not in this context). And of course the "thats" in the last two lines of the first and last stanzas should be, in idiomatic English "hows" or "look at hows", I suppose. But that'll give you a fair basis on which to judge the fidelity of your translation.

Liland