The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #107369 Message #4159586
Posted By: leeneia
18-Dec-22 - 12:23 AM
Thread Name: personent hodie - help with Latin
Subject: RE: personent hodie - help with Latin
I've read about the book Piae Cantiones. I thought I understood it - medieval songs, probably from the monastic life, adopted for the scholastic life in Finland. All in a masculine environment. Nothing wrong with that. Then I looked up 'purerulae,' and it means 'little girls'!
So I think we have a song about a festival in a town or by a congregation. I decided to translate it in a way that emphasizes the singing. I put the Prince Infernal back in and changed the 'junior clericals' to altos, since altos scan.
O today now give tongue, Sweet girls’ voices and young. Sing in praise, sing and pray He is born toda-ay - God has sent the Great One. In the vir-. vir-, vir-, In the vir-. vir-, vir-, Virgi -n’s womb, Virgin’s womb created.
2. He has taken new form wrapped and swaddled and warm In a manger lies he. Ox and cow behold him; Prophets have foretold him. And the prince, prince, prince, and the prince, prince, prince, And the prince o-f Hell, loses power o’er us.
3. Seers came from afar, wond’ring at the new star, saw the Child’s Mother mild, Lay their gifts before him, Worshiped and adored him. Gifts of myrrh, myrrh, myrrh, gifts of myrrh, myrrh, myrrh gifts of myrrh, frankincense, frankincense and go-ld.
4. Let the young trebles sing; Let the altos join in. As the angel foretold - Christ himself most holy in a stable lowly. Gloria, a, a, gloria, a, a, gloria, gloria in excelsis Deo!
======== I've heard some awful sad lyrics sung to this tune, but if you speed it up, add a hand drum and maybe some bells, it's fun.