Description
A gentle setting of this Latin text that bookends the Samuel Taylor Coleridge paraphrase of the same text. Singers are well supported by the accompaniment, and their expressive parts are easily rehearsed but create a tranquil anthem for concerts or Christmas services.
Review
"This very attractive Christmas carol presents the macaronic text in the original Latin and Coleridge's paraphrase in an original arching melody. Diatonic cluster chords in the organ create a wash of sound as a backdrop for the voices’ gentle lullaby. The interesting organ accompaniment includes moments of dialog, paraphrase, and solo interlude. Spicy dissonances by way of crossrelations enliven the tonal landscape without creating abrasive harmonies. Hwang's carol is an excellent option for lessons and carols services, Christmas Eve liturgies, and other seasonal events." --AAM Journal, July/August 2023
Anthem text
Dormi, Jesu! Mater ridet
quae tam dulcem somnum videt,
Dormi, Jesu! blandule!
(Sleep, Jesus! Mother smiles
who sees such sweet sleep,
sleep, Jesus, gentling!)
Sleep, sweet babe! my cares beguiling:
Mother sits beside thee smiling;
sleep, my darling, tenderly!
If thou sleep not, mother mourneth,
singing as her wheel she turneth:
come, soft slumber, balmily!
--Paraphrase of "Dormi, Jesu!" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Si non dormis, Mater plorat,
inter fila cantans orat,
blande, veni, somnule.
(If you sleep not, Mother weeps,
while she spins, in song she prays,
come, gentle little sleep.)
--Latin, unknown origin
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