Carols

[augustin717]

I would like to share with you a few Romanian Christmas carols here. Unlike Western carols, Romanian and other Eastern European carols (Bulgarian, Ukrainian etc) do not necessarily have a religious/theological subject. They contain many pagan mythological elements, speak about agriculture, marriage, hunting etc. Their taxonomy is also quite strict: carols to be sung at the priest's house, at a young girl's house (marriageable), at a young lad's house, at a sick person; there are carols for hunters, for ploughmen, for widows, for the dead etc.
You'll recognize some mythological elements in the following carol:
    La curte la Å¢arigrad

        Ziurel de ziua

    Este-un fecior de-mpărat
    Tot roagă pă maică-sa
    Să-i deie pă soru-sa
    Dragul mamii, eu Å£i-oi da
    Când mie face-mi-i
    Pod de-aramă păstă vamă,
    Pod de-argint păstă pământ.
    El acele le-o gătat,
    Åži-n biseric-o intrat.
    Biseric-o tremurat
    Icoanele-o lăcrimat.
    Iar icoana Precestii
    Din fundu' bisericii,
    Ea din grai aÅŸa grăie
    "Nu eÅŸti popă cu dreptate
Sa cununi sora cu frate,
Sus ii Dumnezeu, te-a bate.

At the court of Tarigrad (Constantinople)
There is a son of an Emperor;
He keeps asking his mother
To give him his sister as a wife.
My darling, I'll give her to you
When you make a copper bridge over the toll-house,
A silver bridge over the earth.
He made all these,
And then,  went into the church.
The icons started to weep,
And the icon of the Most Pure One (Precista),
From the rear side of the church said thus:
O priest, it isn't right to marry a sister to her brother,
God from above will punish you.
Forgive my poor translation; as there are some here who are native English speakers, and also know Romanian, they can correct me.

[jmbejdl]

I would like to share with you a few Romanian Christmas carols here. Unlike Western carols, Romanian and other Eastern European carols (Bulgarian, Ukrainian etc) do not necessarily have a religious/theological subject. They contain many pagan mythological elements, speak about agriculture, marriage, hunting etc. Their taxonomy is also quite strict: carols to be sung at the priest's house, at a young girl's house (marriageable), at a young lad's house, at a sick person; there are carols for hunters, for ploughmen, for widows, for the dead etc.
You'll recognize some mythological elements in the following carol:
    La curte la Å¢arigrad

        Ziurel de ziua

    Este-un fecior de-mpărat
    Tot roagă pă maică-sa
    Să-i deie pă soru-sa
    Dragul mamii, eu Å£i-oi da
    Când mie face-mi-i
    Pod de-aramă păstă vamă,
    Pod de-argint păstă pământ.
    El acele le-o gătat,
    Åži-n biseric-o intrat.
    Biseric-o tremurat
    Icoanele-o lăcrimat.
    Iar icoana Precestii
    Din fundu' bisericii,
    Ea din grai aÅŸa grăie
    "Nu eÅŸti popă cu dreptate
Sa cununi sora cu frate,
Sus ii Dumnezeu, te-a bate.

At the court of Tarigrad (Constantinople)
There is a son of an Emperor;
He keeps asking his mother
To give him his sister as a wife.
My darling, I'll give her to you
When you make a copper bridge over the toll-house,
A silver bridge over the earth.
He made all these,
And then,  went into the church.
The icons started to weep,
And the icon of the Most Pure One (Precista),
From the rear side of the church said thus:
O priest, it isn't right to marry a sister to her brother,
God from above will punish you.
Forgive my poor translation; as there are some here who are native English speakers, and also know Romanian, they can correct me.

Seems about right (the Romanian's archaic so I might be missing something) but you missed a line. The English is also a little foreign sounding, if you know what I mean. I'll put a version below, with the line you missed, that sticks slightly less closely to the Romanian so as to sound a little more English (I hope).

At the court of Constantinople
There was an Emperor's son
Who asked his mother all the time
To let him marry his sister
My darling, I'll give her to you
When you build me
A copper bridge over the customs house (this is like on a border which isn't the same as a toll house, though it's close)
A silver bridge over the earth
He finished these
And entered the church
The church shook (that's the line you missed)
The icons wept
And the icon of the Most Pure One
From the back of the church
Spoke these words:
'You are no priest with the right
To marry sister to brother
God above will punish you'

Now we need someone to turn my less than poetic translation into something more worthy of being sung.

James

[jmbejdl]

I hope you don't mind, but here's one of the carols I like:

Trei Păstori

Trei păstori se întâlniră(bis)
Raza soarelui, floarea soarelui!
Si asa se sfătuiră:

Haideti fratilor să mergem,(bis)
Raza soarelui, floarea soarelui!
Floricele să culegem

Si să facem o cunună,(bis)
Raza soarelui, floarea soarelui!
S-o-mpletim cu voie bună

Si s-o ducem lui Hristos,(bis)
Raza soarelui, floarea soarelui!
Să ne fie de folos!

Which translates as:

Three Shepherds

Three shepherds once met (twice)
Ray of the sun, flower of the sun - (literally a sunflower, but it sounds odd to put that)
And this was their advice:

Come brothers let us go (twice)
Ray of the sun, flower of the sun
And pick flowers

And let's make a wreath (twice) - (this is a wreath as in crown - cununie means a wedding, to compare)
Ray of the sun, flower of the sun
And weave it with good will - (the verb means plait, weave or wreathe)

And let's take it to Christ (twice)
Ray of the sun, flower of the sun
So that we can be useful  - (don't really like that translation - maybe someone else can think of a better one?)

Good idea, by the way. I hope others might want to share carols from other countries too.


James

[augustin717]

Thanks, James.
Of course, it would be nice and interesting if others wanted to share their traditional carols here, too.
 The following is for a hunter:
Am plecat a corinda
Marut margaritar
Pe la curti de boieri mari.
Marut margaritar
Da' boierii nu-s acasa
Marut margaritar
C-or plecat la vinatoare
Marut margaritar
Sa vineze caprioare.
Marut margaritar
Caprioare n-or vinat
Marut margaritar
D'or vinat un iepuras.
Marut margaritar
Sa faca din pielea lui
Marut margaritar
Vesmint frumos Domnului.

We have gone caroling
Little lily-of-the-valley
To the courts of great boyars (lords).
But the boyars aren't home
For they have gone hunting,
Hunting deer.
Deer they couldn't hunt,
Only a little hare;
They'll make out of its skin
A handsome garment
To the Lord.

[ozgeorge]

Here are some Australian Carols which reflect our Summertime Christmas:

CAROL OF THE BIRDS  ("Orana!" is an Aboriginal word meaning "Welcome!")
Out on the plains the brolgas are dancing,
Lifting their feet like war horses prancing,
Up to the sun the woodlarks go winging,
Faint in the dawn light echoes their singing,
Orana! Orana! Orana! To Christmas Day.

Down where the tree-ferns grow by the river,
There where the waters sparkle and quiver,
Deep in the gullies Bell-birds are chiming,
Softly and sweetly their lyric notes rhyming
Orana! Orana! Orana! To Christmas Day.

Friar-birds sip the nectar of flowers,
Currawongs chant in wattle-tree bowers,
In the blue ranges Lorikeets calling,
Carols of bushlands rising and falling,
Orana! Orana! Orana! To Christmas Day.

CHRISTMAS DAY
The North Wind is tossing the leaves,
The red dust is over the town,
The sparrows are under the eaves,
And the grass in the paddock is brown;
As we lift up our voices and sing
To the Christ-Child the Heavenly King.
The tree-ferns in green gullies sway;
The cool stream flows silently by;
The joy bells are greeting the day,
And the chimes are adrift in the sky,
As we lift up our voices and sing
To the Christ-Child the Heavenly King.


THE DAY THAT CHRIST WAS BORN ON
When the sun’s a golden rose,
And the magpie carols clear,
You can say, and I can say,
On the summer morning,
Here at last is Christmas Day,
The day that Christ was born on,
The day that Christ was born on,
When the wand’ring, lonely sheep,
Find at last a shady pool,
You can say, and I can say,
On the outback station,
Here at last is Christmas Day,
The day Christ brought salvation,
The day Christ brought salvation.

When the ranges turn to flame,
And the winds like trumpets blow,
You can say, and I can say,
Seven times and seven,
Here at last is Christmas Day,
The day that Christ came from Heaven,
The day that Christ came from Heaven.
But when summer’s shining moon,
Dips a silver chalice bright,
You can say, and I can say,
Joyously and airy –
Here at last is Christmas Day,
The day Christ smiled at Mary,
The day Christ smiled at Mary.

NOEL-TIME
Now once again it’s Noel time,
And ev’ry steeple rings;
The sun is like the great gold star
That led the Eastern Kings;
O come with me where hills are brown,
And Christmas Bush grows wild,
So we can make a Christmas crown
To grace a Kingly Child
O let us seek in Noel time,
Through sunshine and through shade,
Until we find the Christmas Bush
His Kingly hands have made;
The fires are burning on the hill,
The smoke is coming down,
But Christmas Bush is blooming still
To make a Kingly Crown.

THE THREE DROVERS
Across the plains one Christmas night
Three drovers riding blithe and gay,
Looked up and saw a starry light
More radiant than the Milky Way;
And on their hearts such wonder fell,
They sang with joy.
'Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!'

The air was dry with summer heat,
And smoke was on the yellow moon;
But from the heavens, faint and sweet,
Came floating down a wond'rous turn;
And as they heard, they sang full well
Those drovers three.
'Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!'

The black swans flew across the sky,
The wild dog called across the plain,
The starry lustre blazed on high,
Still echoed on the heavenly strain;
And still they sang, 'Noel! Noel!'
Those drovers three.
'Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!'

[augustin717]

Beautiful these Australian carols; although for a European or a North American it will still fill a bit weird to have Christmas at the peak of summer.
Here you can listen to some traditional Romanian (mostly Transylvanian) carols:
http://www.crestinortodox.ro/Asculta__Ia_iesiti_boieri_afara-1128.html
http://www.crestinortodox.ro/Asculta__Catu_ne_am_d_umblat-346.html
http://www.crestinortodox.ro/Asculta__Buna_sara_lui_Craciun-344.html
http://www.crestinortodox.ro/Asculta__Radu_Cioras___Fiica_mica_de_mparat-371.html
http://www.crestinortodox.ro/Asculta__Ce_hazna_i_daiasta_sara-979.html
http://www.crestinortodox.ro/Asculta__Ia_iesiti_boieri_afara-1057.html

[Ebor]

I love the Australian carols!  Thanks for posting them, OzGeorge.  Are there any on-line sites where I could hear the tunes please?

Just for information's sake "western" carols were not exclusively religious songs/Christmas music either.  The word "carol" has this etymology:

c.1300, from O.Fr. carole "kind of dance," from M.L. choraula "a dance to the flute," from L. choraules, from Gk. choraules "flute player who accompanies the choral dance," from choros "chorus" + aulein "to play the flute," from aulos "reed instrument." The meaning of "Christmas hymn" is 1502.

http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=carol

Ebor

[ozgeorge]

I could only find audio files online for two of them Ebor:

Carol of the Birds: http://auscards.tripod.com/sounds/carolofbirds.wav

The Three Drovers: http://www.joystrings.co.uk/LP/Carolsaroundtheworld/Acrosstheplains.html

[Marat]

From Texas

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
Don't want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
I don't think Santa Claus will mind, do you?
He won't have to use our dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door,
that's the easy thing to do

I can see me now on Christmas morning,
creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
when I open up my eyes
to see a hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too

Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then
Teacher says a hippo is a vegeterian

There's lots of room for him in our two-car garage
I'd feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage

I can see me now on Christmas morning,
creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise

when I open up my eyes
to see a hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles or rhinoceroseses
I only like hippopotamuseses
And hippopotamuses like me too!

http://www.minibite.com/christmas/hippo.htm

[augustin717]

Another Romanian (Transylvanian) carol, of some international notoriety, because its text, or rather one of its variants, was used by Bela Bartok for his "Cantata Profana":
There were once two old boyars
And they had nine children
All of them were boys.
Until they grew up,
They weren't breastfed,
Nor did they teach them
How to use the scythe on the holm,
Or the plough on the field.
But they only cursed them
So that, out of nine sons,
They turned into nine stags;
Christmas drew near,
They were missing them,
And so called them back:
Come home, sons,
For your dear mother eagerly awaits for you,
For today is Christmas' Eve
And tomorrow is Christmas day.
But they answered him:
Our dear father,
Go home,
To our dear mother,
And be merry;
Stag-legs
Don't pass thresholds
And we don't tread on hearth-ashes,
But on leaves we tread;
And stag-antlers
Don't fit doorways.
Stag-lips
Don't fit glasses;
Our lips don't fit glasses,
For they drink out of springs.

 

[Ebor]

Thank you very much for the links, OzGeorge.  I've enjoyed listening to them.  The Australian songs have some of the flavour of Montana/the American West in them.  Similar conditions and people, maybe.

Ebor

[augustin717]

http://www15.rapidupload.com/d.php?file=dl&filepath=9412
Ion, bun barbat,
Ioi Domnului Doamne
El s'o laudat,
Ca iertare n'are,
Pina'n cer ca sare.
Cerbul cel murgutu
Daca'si d'auzire
Nici apa nu'si bere,
Nici iarba nu'si paste,
Ci el tare sare,
Tistru si maiestru,
'N vadu' cerbilor:
Ioane, Ioane,
Ce vii tu la mine,
Ca eu te'oi suire
'N cornitele mele,
Si eu ca te'oi duce
Peste munti carunti,
Unde iarba creste,
Pat gros impleteste.

John, the good man,
He boasted himself,
That he would have no respite
Until he leaped into heavens.
But that dark bay stag,
When it heard him say so,
Would no longer drink water,
Neither would it graze grass,
But it leaps with strength,
Swift and wonderful,
To the stags' ford:
John, o, John,
Why are you coming to me,
For I'll take you
In my antlers,
And I'll take you
Over the grey mountains,
Where the grass grows
Weawing a thick bed.

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