Lyr Req: O Du Fröhliche (English and German)

Subject: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas song?
From: Wolfgang
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 12:42 PM

One of the most popular German Christmas carols (all time top three, I'd say) is O du fröhliche. This is in fact one of the very few songs that is always sung standing up in protestant churches over here (I only recollect four songs in that category; the other three being: A mighty fortress, Silent night and O come all ye faithful). I don't know any English version of 'O Du fröhliche'.

If you follow my link you'll find the German lyrics and a midi with the tune. Listen to the midi and tell me please whether there are English lyrics to this tune.

Wolfgang

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alternate link to lyrics and MIDI

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: MMario
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 12:59 PM

wolfgang - I can't place any particular lyrics to the tune - but I know I have sung it in church! sorry - if I get the time I will try a search on the tune name "sanctimissa"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 01:00 PM

I don't know it as a Christmas carol, but all my life I've known the hymn:

Savior, like a shepherd lead us;
Much we need thy tender care;
In thy pleasant pastures feed us;
For our use thy folds prepare.
Blessed Jesus! Blessed Jesus!
Thou hast bought us, thine we are.

Early let us seek thy favor,
Early let us learn thy will;
Do, thou, Lord, our only savior
With thy love our bosoms fill.
Blessed Jesus! Blessed Jesus!
Thou hast loved us; love us still.

I can still hear the poor curate who was saddled with leading the children's chapel service, warbling this hymn in his thin tenor. At the time I had no idea what folds he wanted Jesus to prepare (I could only picture my mother folding sheets!). Now that my daughter has gone through her 4H phase I know better...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 01:06 PM

It's O Sanctissima.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 01:11 PM

O thou joyful day, O thou blessed day,
Holy, peaceful Christmas tide.
Earth's hopes a waken, Christ life hath taken.
Laud Him, O laud Him on ev'ry side.

O thou joyful day, O thou blessed day,
Holy, peaceful Christmas tide. King of glory, We bow before The,
Laud Him, O laud Him on ev'ry side.

O Sanctissima, o piissima,
Dulcis Virgo Maria.
Mater amata, intemerata,
Ora, Ora pro nobis.

***************************************************************

I don't know how these words translate, so I didn't use the lyric add for the DT.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: MMario
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 01:12 PM

oops...yes, ulways profred.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: GUEST,Dale
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 01:14 PM

Wolfgang, I know this is of no real help, but I have only heard it by Nana Mouskouri and Michelle (both nice versions, though Michelle is not my favorite German singer). It bears no close similarity to any other song I have heard, but that doesn't mean all that much, since most of what I know is closer to Southern Gospel, for lack of a better term.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: Sorcha
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 01:14 PM

It's not the same melody I remember for Saviour Like a Shehperd......could these be the English for Christmas? The tune is Sanctissima.......

O thou joyful day, O thou blessed day,
Holy, peaceful Christmas tide.
Earth's hopes a waken, Christ life hath taken.
Laud Him, O laud Him on ev'ry side.

O thou joyful day, O thou blessed day,
Holy, peaceful Christmas tide.
King of glory, We bow before Thee,
Laud Him, O laud Him on ev'ry side.

O sanctissima, o piissima,
Dulcis Virgo Maria.
Mater amata, intemerata,
Ora, Ora pro nobis.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: Sorcha
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 01:16 PM

Google Search page for sanctissima......
Sanctissima

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 01:23 PM

Yeah, there is another melody for Saviour like a shepherd... but this is the one I remember!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: Wolfgang
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 01:52 PM

What a wealth of responses. Thanks all.
'What a joyful day' (O Sanctissima) is obviously the English version for it is close to the German (which may or may not be the original, I don't know), though many more lyrics may have been written to this beautiful Sicilian tune.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: masato sakurai
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 07:02 PM

Other English versions include "O Most Wonderful! O Most Merciful!" (in The New Oxford Book of Carols) and "Holy, Joyful Dawn of Christmas" (in Carols for Today).
~Masato

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: masato sakurai
Date: 12 Dec 01 - 07:09 PM

And "Lord, Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing" (CLICK HERE in the Cyber Hymnal).

Subject: ADD: O Du Froehliche
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Dec 01 - 11:22 PM

Maybe it would be an idea to post the lyrics of the German version here, too. I grew up knowing these German words, plus the Latin hymn to the same tune, and an English translation of the Latin hymn (apparently, the tune may be a traditional Sicialian song, "Sicilian Mariners"). The English translation Sorcha provided is the closest I've seen to the German.
-Joe Offer-

O DU FRÖHLICHE

O du fröhliche, o du selige,
gnadenbringende Weihnachtszeit!
Welt ging verloren,
Christ ward geboren:
Freue, freue dich o Christenheit!

O du fröhliche, o du selige,
gnadenbringende Weihnachtszeit!
Christ ist erschienen,:
uns zu versühnen;!
Freue, freue dich o Christenheit!

O du fröhliche, o du selige,
gnaden bringende Weihnachtszeit!
Himmlische Heere,
jauchzen dir Ehre:
Freue, freue dich o Christenheit!

---

O Sanctissima

O SANCTISSIMA

O sanctissima, O piissima, Dulcis Virgo Maria.
O sanctissima, O piissima, Dulcis Virgo Maria.
Mater amata, intemerata, Ora, ora pro nobis.

Tota pulchra es, O Maria, Et macula non est in te.
Tota pulchra es, O Maria, Et macula non est in te.
Mater amata, intemerata, Ora, ora pro nobis.

Sicut lilium inter spinas, Sic Maria inter filias.
Sicut lilium inter spinas, Sic Maria inter filias.
Mater amata, intemerata, Ora, ora pro nobis.

In miseria, in angustia, Ora, Virgo, pro nobis.
In miseria, in angustia, Ora, Virgo, pro nobis.
Mater amata, intemerata, Ora, ora pro nobis.

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O MOST HOLY ONE

O most holy one,
O most lowly one,
Loving virgin, Maria!
Mother, maid of fairest love,
Lady, Queen of all above,
Ora, ora pro nobis! [pray, pray for us]

Virgin ever fair,
Mother, hear our prayer,
Look upon us, Maria!
Bring to us your treasure,
Grace beyond all measure,
Ora, ora pro nobis!

Call we fearfully
Sadly, tearfully,
Save us now, O Maria!
Let us not languish,
Heal now our anguish
Ora, ora pro nobis!

Mother, Maiden fair,
Look with loving care,
Hear our prayer, O Maria!
Our sorrow feeling,
Send us thy healing,
Ora, ora pro nobis!

I was a Roman Catholic seminary student in Milwaukee in the 1960's. During that time, many hymns to Mary were banned in our diocese because they were too sentimental, or because they had flawed theology. The last two English verses of this hymn certainly would have been banned in our diocese - for both reasons. I knew the first two verses by heart, but never heard the last two.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Dec 01 - 11:46 PM

SICILIAN MARINERS is thought to be a tune sung by Sicilian seamen on board their ships when the sun set. It appeared in Corri's Select Collection of the Most Admired Songs, Duetts, Etc., c. 1794, with the caption "The Prayer of the Sicilian Mariner." As the setting for "O Sanctissima, O Purissima" it was published in The European Magazine and London Review, 1792, and William Tattersall's Psalms selected from the version of the Rev. Jas Merrick, c. 1790.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Engl. lyrics to German Christmas son
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Dec 01 - 12:52 AM

Now if Joe would retitle this thread with a song title(s).
Songs and origins are all here together.

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Good idea, Dicho. Hope Wolfgang doesn't mind. If I change thread names, the thread originator usually has the option of getting it changed back.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: req: English version of German O Du Fröhliche
From: Wolfgang
Date: 14 Dec 01 - 04:50 AM

I do not mind at all, why should I? I had thought about using more or less exactly the title the thread has now for my request. I did not for the simple reason that someone who didn't know 'O Du Fröhliche' might still recognise the midi. And I did want these poeple to open the thread as well. Now that this reason is no longer valid the new title is much better.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: req: English version of German O Du Fröhliche
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Dec 01 - 05:13 AM

The New Oxford Book of Carols has some interesting information:

Known as "The Sicilian Mariners' Hymn" and sung to a purely Marian text beginning "O sanctissima! O piissima!" or its Italian equivalent, this piece has established itself as a kind of honorary Christmas carol in English-speaking countries. Its origins are mysterious, and quite possibly unconnected with Sicily (see NOBC notes). A three-part setting from a London magazine of 1792 is the earliest known source (NOBC setting I, not included here), and the song was later published by Gottfried von Herder, who claimed to have collected it during a trip to Italy in 1788. Falk was the warden of a Weimar orphanage, and in 1819 he wrote a drama for his charges to perform (published in 1830). "O Sanctissima!" appears there in versions for Christmas (with two additional verses by a colleague) and other feasts. The Christmas text is now firmly established among Lutherans.

Apparently, there are many texts set to this tune. There appears to be no connection between the Latin text of "O Sanctissima" and the German "O du Fröhliche." HOWEVER, "O Sanctissima," a hymn about Mary, has become regarded in English-speaking countries as a Christmas hymn. I figure that the way that happened is through "O du Fröhliche," even though the Latin/English and the German texts have no connection except through sharing the same tune.
OK, so that's Joe's theory, and he's stickin' to it.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: req: English version of German O Du Fröhliche
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Dec 01 - 05:29 AM

I was ready to go to bed, but my friend Mr. Scanner objected. He found something else, in a book by William Studwell called The Christmas Carol Reader, a kind of hymnal complanion for carols. Here's what Studwell says:

O Thou Joyful Day
What well-known Christmas carol is a direct descendant of a major non-Christmas song, has four siblings with close ties, and has a melody whose title unjustifiably implies relationships with Italy and the sea? The answer to this trivia puzzler about musical relatives is the anonymous song, "O Thou Joyful Day." Probably written in the United States in the nineteenth century, this carol has three similar English-language kin all under the title, "O Sanctissima," and one German-language relation under the title, "O du fröhliche." The affiliated English-language carols are all twentieth century and American, two anonymous and one by William Glass.
The German carol, by Johannes Daniel Falk (1768-1826), was published in 1816. Its several English translations, for example, "O How Joyfully," collectively emphasize the joyfulness of the German original.
All of these five songs are derived from an anonymous sixteenth-century Latin hymn of praise to the Virgin Mary, "O Sanctissima." The source of inspiration for the five Christmas carols was, therefore, a piece without any direct connection to the holiday. Equally ironic is the tune, "Sicilian Mariners," which is the music for all six lyrics under discussion. In spite of the suggestion of association with Sicily and maritime matters, no linkage with either has been proven. The melody was probably created in the second half of the eighteenth century, possibly from folk sources, possibly from an obscure opera.
The tune first appeared, as far as is known, in Improved Psalmody (1794), edited by Englishman William Tattersall (1752-1829). Since then it has been widely appreciated and widely adapted. The immortal Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) devoted some of his genius to making an arrangement of it, and it has been utilized for a standard hymn, "Lord, Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing" (1773), as well as for other hymns. Overall, it is one of the more popular and artistically superior tunes of any era, and its buoyant, dynamic, and sweeping nature is a perfect match for the several carols it has graced. In the United States, "O Thou Joyful Day" is the most familiar of "Sicilian Mariner"'s stable of Christmas songs, but, worldwide, Falk's "O du fröhliche" may possibly be better known.

Mr. Scanner is quite proud of himself. Please provide appropriate applause.
Good night.
-Joe offer-

Subject: RE: req: English version of German O Du Fröhliche
From: Wilfried Schaum
Date: 14 Dec 01 - 09:36 AM

From the Protestant Hymn Book for Hessen and Nassau:
Stanza 1 was written by Johannes Daniel Falk (1768 - 1826), satirical writer and founder of an important orphanage.
The following 2 stanzas were written by Heinrich Holzschuher (1798 - 1847), social worker in prisons and educational institutions, judge.
Tune: Sicily before 1788.

Merry Xmas
Wilfried

Subject: RE: req: English version of German O Du Fröhliche
From: Wolfgang
Date: 19 Dec 01 - 01:42 PM

My source has 1818 as the date of first German publication which is so close to Joe's 1816 that we shouldn't bother about that any longer, but:

Was the tune really ever the basis for a sea song or has someone once misread 'Sicilian Marian song' for 'Sicilian mariner song' (or was there even a typo like 'Sicilian Marina song'?)? Of course my hypothesis doesn't exclude the possibility that mariners at times of trouble did actually sing a Marian song.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: req: English version of German O Du Fröhliche
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Dec 01 - 02:14 PM

Your "Marian song" explanation seems to make sense, Wolfgang. I looked all around and couldn't find any more information about the "Mariner's Song" - and as you see in my message above, Studwell questions the maritime ancestry of the tune.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: req: English version of German O Du Fröhliche
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 19 Dec 01 - 04:40 PM

Well, I, for one, would be willing to bet that it came from Silesia, not from Sicily at all. If it came from Sicily, explain how it jumped to Germany without generating versions in the lands between. But Silesia (now part of Poland) is right next door to Germany.

This wouldn't be the first time that Silesian got mixed up with Sicilian.

Subject: RE: req: English version of German O Du Fröhliche
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 19 Dec 01 - 06:07 PM

One source says it was popular with the gondoliers of Venice. I don't see any need for a Marian explanation. It could have been an old dance or parlor tune adapted to hymn use; these often had exotic names. No far, no indication of it before 1788?, 1792.

Subject: RE: req: English version of German O Du Fröhliche
From: masato sakurai
Date: 19 Dec 01 - 06:30 PM

James J. Fuld says:

The origin of the hymn ["O Sanctissima"] is uncertain, but its first known printing was, curiously, in the United States in May, 1794, in R. Shaw, The Gentleman's Amusement (Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore), p. 25, under the title Prayer of the Sicilian Mariners; Sonneck-Upton, pp. 157 and 341, and JF. It was published in London in 1795 with English text, a paraphrase of Psalm 19, God the Heav'ns Aloud Proclaim in the late Rev. James Merrick and the Rev. William Dechair Tattersall, Improved Psalmody, vol. I, p. 48, to "Sicilian Hymn"; NYPL. The text and tune of O Sanctissima were recorded by the German poet Johann Gottfried von Herder, probably during his Italian trip of 1788-1789, but were not published by him until the collected edition of his works in 1807, Stimmen der Völker in Liedern (Tubingen), vol. 8, p. 175, where it is referred to as a Sicilian mariners' song and also as an Italian folksong; BSM. The Sicilian Mariner's Hymn was also published in sheet music by various publishers commencing about 1795; BUC, p. 6. Beethoven made a setting of O Sanctissima in 1814-1815; Kinsky-Halm, p. 655. The melody also accompanied other texts under vaious titles: Dismissal, Lord Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing, Saviour Like a Shepherd Lad Us, and O Du Fröhliche. There is no Italian record of the song, and it may have been an air from an obscure Neapolitan opera of the eighteenth centure. It has also been conjectured to be as old as the sixteenth century, at leastas to the words.
(James J. Fuld, The Book of World-Famous Music, 4th ed., s.v. We Shall Overcome; p. 624)

~Masato

Subject: Lyr Add: SICILIAN MARINERS HYMN
From: masato sakurai
Date: 19 Dec 01 - 07:06 PM

The edition of "Sicilian Mariners Hymn" at Levy:
Title: (1) Away With Melancholy. (2) Sicilian Mariners Hymn.
Composer, Lyricist, Arranger: Composed by Mozart.
Publication: New York: J. Hewitt's Musical Repository, No. 59 Maiden Lane, n.d..

SICILIAN MARINERS HYMN

1
Sing my Soul his wond'rous Love
who from that bright Throne above
ever watchful o'er Our Race
Still to Man extends his Grace.

2
Heav'n and earth by him were made
All is by his Sceptre swayed!
What are we, that he shou'd show
So much Love to us below.

3
Sing my tongue adore his name
Let his Glory be thy theme
Praise him till he call us home Trust his Love for all to come.

And The Sicilian Hymn (O Sanctissima):
Title: (1) The Portuguese Hymn. On the Nativity, with an English translation. [tune Adeste fideles]. (2) The Sicilian Hymn.
Composer, Lyricist, Arranger: na
Publication: n.p., n.d.

~Masato

Subject: RE: req: English version of German O Du Fröhliche
From: Wolfgang
Date: 20 Dec 01 - 06:38 AM

Thanks, Masato, that makes a rather convincing case.

Wolfgang