\u201cSt. Thomas Church on a winter morning\u201d (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)
Beyond any other earthly landscape, Alpine scenery such as this seems to me a foretaste of heaven.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every year since I launched this blog, I have called attention to some of my favorite Christmas music. \u00a0So I\u2019m doing it again. \u00a0And I\u2019m particularly in the mood since yesterday was, without giving further details, a remarkably gratifying day. \u00a0Out of the blue and unexpectedly so.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remember very clearly when and where the marvelous carol \u201cEs ist ein Ros entsprungen\u201d (often called in English \u201cLo, How a Rose E\u2019er Blooming\u201d)<\/span>, which was given its classical form by the German composer Michael Praetorius in 1609 but which originated sometime before that, first hit me. \u00a0(I suppose that I had probably heard the carol before, but, if I had, it hadn\u2019t registered. \u00a0Not even slightly.)\u00a0 I\u00a0was attending a Latter-day Saint sacrament meeting in Interlaken, Switzerland, shortly before Christmas 1973. \u00a0Curiously, I don\u2019t recall who sang it. \u00a0It may have been a branch or district choir.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was enraptured. \u00a0Riveted. \u00a0I had seldom heard anything so beautiful. \u00a0And it\u00a0still<\/em>\u00a0affects me that way.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Es ist ein Ros entsprungen,<\/span>
\naus einer Wurzel zart,<\/span>
\nwie uns die Alten sungen,<\/span>
\nvon Jesse kam die Art.<\/span>
\nUnd hat ein Bl\u00fcmlein bracht<\/span>
\nmitten im kalten Winter,<\/span>
\nwohl zu der halben Nacht.<\/span><\/p>\nDas R\u00f6slein, das ich meine,<\/span>
\ndavon Isaias sagt,<\/span>
\nhat uns gebracht alleine<\/span>
\nMarie, die reine Magd.<\/span>
\nAus Gottes ew\u2019gem Rat<\/span>
\nhat sie ein Kind geboren<\/span>
\nwohl zu der halben Nacht.<\/span><\/p>\nDas Bl\u00fcmelein, so kleine,<\/span>
\ndas duftet uns so s\u00fc\u00df,<\/span>
\nmit seinem hellen Scheine<\/span>
\nvertreibt\u2019s die Finsternis.<\/span>
\nWahr Mensch und wahrer Gott<\/span>
\nhilft uns aus allem Leide,<\/span>
\nrettet von S\u00fcnd und Tod.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
A\u00a0literal and quite unpoetic translation (partially my own):<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
A rose has sprung up,<\/span>
\nfrom a tender root,<\/span>
\nAs the ancients\u00a0sang to us.<\/span>
\nIts line\u00a0came from Jesse<\/span>
\nAnd it has brought forth a\u00a0small flower<\/span>
\nIn the middle of the cold winter,<\/span>
\nIn\u00a0the middle of\u00a0the night.<\/span><\/p>\nThe little rose that I mean,<\/span>
\nOf which Isaiah told,<\/span>
\nMary alone, the pure maid,<\/span>
\nHas brought to us.<\/span>
\nBy\u00a0God\u2019s eternal counsel<\/span>
\nShe has borne a child<\/span>
\nIn\u00a0the middle of\u00a0the night.<\/span><\/p>\nThe tiny\u00a0flower, so small,<\/span>
\nThat smells so sweet to us,<\/span>
\nWith its bright gleam<\/span>
\nDispels\u00a0the darkness<\/span>
\n\u2013True man and true God\u2013<\/span>
\nHelps us from all suffering,<\/span>
\nSaves us from sin and death.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always loved the German lyrics. \u00a0The English words just don\u2019t move me as much \u2014 and not merely in the literal and unpoetic version supplied above. \u00a0But the music is gorgeous in any language. \u00a0Here\u2019s one rendition that I like:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEs ist ein Ros Entsprungen\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Every year since I launched this blog, I have called attention to some of my favorite Christmas music. \u00a0So I\u2019m doing it again. \u00a0And I\u2019m particularly in the mood since yesterday was, without giving further details, a remarkably gratifying day. \u00a0Out of the blue and unexpectedly so. \u00a0 I remember very clearly when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Austria,](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2018\/12\/800px-St._Thomas_church_on_a_winter_morning-1.jpg\")
<\/a>