In dulci jubilo
| "In Dulci Jubilo" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Language | German Latin English |
| English title | In Sweetest Rejoicing |
| Written | 1328 |
| Composer(s) | Traditional |
| Lyricist(s) | Heinrich Seuse Robert Lucas de Pearsall John Mason Neale |
"In Dulci Jubilo" (English "In Sweetest Rejoicing" but most commonly arranged as "Good Christian Men, Rejoice") is a traditional Christmas Carol. In its original setting, the carol is a macaronic text of German and Latin dating from the Middle Ages. Subsequent translations into English have increased its popularity, and it is a mainstay of the Christmas Nine Lessons and Carols repetoire. J.S. Bach's chorale prelude based on the tune (BWV 729) is also a traditional postlude for Christmas services.
Original version
The original lyrics, a macaronic alternation of Medieval German and Latin, is thought to have been written by the German mystic Heinrich Seuse circa 1328.[1]
According to folklore, Seuse heard angels sing these words and joined them in a dance of worship.[2] The first stanza is:
|
Original text |
English translation |
English versions
There have been translations of the Latin/German poem. A popular version by Robert Lucas de Pearsall (1837) retains the Latin phrases and substitutes English for German:[3][4]
- In dulci jubilo,
- Let us our homage show!
- Our heart's joy reclineth
- In praesepio;
- And like a bright star shineth
- Matris in gremio.
- Alpha es et O!
An English-only translation was produced in 1853 by John Mason Neale.
Influence in music
Dieterich Buxtehude set the melody as a chorale-cantata in 1683 for soprano, alto and bass accompanied by two violins and continuo (BuxWV 52) and as a chorale prelude for organ (BuxWV 197) c. 1690.[5][6]
J.S. Bach set this melody several times: as a chorale in BWV 368; and then for organ in BWV 608 as a double canon in his Orgelbüchlein and in BWV 729 and BWV 751 as a chorale prelude. Commentators agree, however, that BWV 751 is too simple and undeveloped to be the work of Bach.[7] BWV 729 is traditionally performed as the first organ voluntary at the end of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge. This voluntary was first introduced to the service in 1938 by organ scholar Douglas Guest.
Franz Liszt included the carol in his piano suite Weihnachtsbaum in the movement entitled Die Hirten an der Krippe.
Norman Dello Joio uses the theme as the basis of his "Variants on a Medieval Tune" for wind ensemble.
Recordings
An instrumental arrangement of the Pearsall version by English musician Mike Oldfield, "In Dulci Jubilo", reached number 4 in the UK in January 1976. This was the second version of "In Dulci Jubilo" that Oldfield recorded; the first was as a B-side for another single, "Don Alfonso". The new age band Mannheim Steamroller also recorded a version for their 1988 Christmas album A Fresh Aire Christmas, using a dulcimer as the main instrument. Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø recorded a Kjetil Bjerkestrand arrangement of the song with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on the Grammy Award-nominated Christmas album Spirit of the Season.
References
- ^ "In Dulci Jubilo". Sibelius Music. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
- ^ "In Dulci Jubilo - Notes on the Carol". Hymns and Carols of Christmas. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
- ^ "Good Christian Men, Rejoice". Hymns and Carols of Christmas. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
- ^ Carols for Choirs 1 - Recorded by the King's College Choir and the Cambridge Singers, Oxford University Press
- ^ Snyder, Kerala J. (2007), Dieterich Buxtehude: organist in Lübeck, University of Rochester Press, ISBN 1580462537
- ^ Buxtehude, Deiterich (2006), Chorale preludes BuxWV 177-224, Dover, pp. 54–55, ISBN 0486452875
- ^ Williams, Peter (1980), The Organ Music of J.S. Bach, Volume II: BWV 599-771, etc., Cambridge Studies in Music, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-31700-2