woensdag 30 november 2016

In Dulci Jubilo (1328) / Good Christian Men Rejoice (1853)


The original song text, a macaronic alternation of Medieval German and Latin, is thought to have been written by the German mystic and Dominican monk Heinrich Suso (or Seuse) circa 1328
One night in 1328 Suso had a vision in which he joined angels dancing as the angels sang to him "Nun singet und seid froh" or "In Dulci Jubilo".


The tune first appears in Codex 1305, a manuscript in Leipzig University Library dating from c.1400,
 

It's on page 116r on the next link:



Here below are the German/ Latin words from Codex No. 1305 as quoted by Philipp Wackernagel  in Das Deutsche Lirchenlied from 1867 (#640)

1. In dulci iubilo
singet und sit vro.
Aller unser wonne
layt in presepio,
Sy leuchtet vor dy sonne
matris in gremio
qui alpha est & o.

2. O Jhesu paruule
noch dir ist mir so we:
troste mir myn gemute
O puce optime,
durch aller iuncfrawen gute
princeps glorie,
trahe me post te.

3. Ubi sunt gaudia?
nyndert me wen da,
do dy vogelin singen
noua cantica,
und do dy schelchen klingen
in regis curia
Eya qualia.

4. Mater et lilia
ist iuncfraw Maria
Wir woren gar vertorben
per nostra crimina
Nu het fy uns erworben
celorum gaudia
O quanta gracia.



Around 1910 the German Choir Thomanerchor recorded "In Dulci Jubilo" for the Homokord-label

Here below a version they recorded in 1930 for the Grammophon-label



Listen here:




It has been suggested that the melody may have existed in Europe prior to this date.

Later on, the tune was included in Geistliche Lieder, a 1533 Lutheran hymnal by Joseph Klug.




The melody also appears in the 1582 Finnish songbook Piae Cantiones, a collection of sacred and secular medieval songs, in which the original German/ Latin lyrics are changed for Swedish/ Latin



Here are the Swedish/ Latin lyrics of the 2 pages above:

In dulci iubilo,
Nu siunge wij io io
Then all tingh för oss förmo
ligger in praesepio
Och som Solen skijner
matris in gremio:
Alpha es et o,
Alpha es et o.

O Iesu paruule
för tigh är migh so we
Tröst migh i mitt sinne
O puer optime
Lätt migh tin godheet finne
O princeps gloriae,
Trahe me post te,
trahe me post te.

O Patris charitas,
O Nati lenitas,
Wij wore plat förderffuadh
per nostra crimina,
Nu haffuer hä oss förwärffuad
coeloru gaudia,
Eya wore wij thär
Eya wore wij thär.

Ubi sunt gaudia
Ther siunger man "Eya"
Hwar Englanar siunga
noua cantica,
Och sielanar springa
in regis curia,
Eya wore wij thär
Eya wore wij thär.


A copy of the rare 1582 edition of Piae Cantiones was acquired by Thomas Helmore and John Mason Neale in 1853 from G. J. R. Gordon, Her Majesty's Envoy and Minister at Stockholm. Helmore adapted the carol melodies and Neale either paraphrased the carol lyrics into English or wrote entirely new lines.

So five hundred years later, this carol "In Dulci Jubilo" became the inspiration for the 1853 English paraphrase by John Mason Neale, He retitled it "Good Christian Men, Rejoice".

The song was subsequently published in Carols for Christmas-tide (London: Novello) in 1853.

Regrettably, this collection lacked Helmore's musical scores. Fortunately, Neale and Helmore published The Condensed Vocal Parts to the Carols for Christmas-tide in 1854, which contains all of Rev. Helmore's musical settings, plus all of the lyrics and settings to Carols for Easter-tide!

 




In 1619 Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) made his own arrangement of the song in his song-book Polyhymnia Caduceatrix et Panegyrica
 


Listen here:




Bach, Liszt and Pearsall also made their own arrangement of "In Dulci Jubilo".

Johann Sebastian 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.

Here below is an autograph manuscript of "In Dulci Jubilo", BWV 608, from the Orgelbüchlein, composed during the period 1708–1717, while Bach was court organist at the ducal court in Weimar.


Listen here




Franz Liszt included the carol in his piano suite Weihnachtsbaum in the movement entitled "Die Hirten an der Krippe" (The Shepherds at the Manger). written in 1875 and published in 1882


Listen here





Whereas John Mason Neale wrote (almost) new lyrics in 1853, some years earlier in 1837 Robert Lucas de Pearsall kept the macaronic structure of the song by retaining the Latin phrases and substituting the English for German.


Listen here:





English composer Gustav Holst had produced his fantasy, "Christmas Day", in 1910 for chorus and orchestra which was based on the interaction of four carol melodies. Holst’s work was essentially constructed on four readily available published carols ("Good Christian men rejoice", "God rest ye merry gentlemen", "The First Nowell" and an old Breton melody set to the words "Come, ye lofty, come, ye lowly")


Listen here:





The first recorded version of this song I could find:

(o) Choir Band and Organ (1906) (as "Good Christian Men Rejoice")
Released on Sterling cylinder #706




Or here:





(c) St Paul's Cathedral Choir (1912) (as "Good Christian Men Rejoice")
Released on the Marathon-label (#187)





(c) The Temple Carol Singers (1915) (as "Good Christian Men Rejoice")
Released December 1915 on Regal G 7191




The same release-number Regal G-7191 was used for 2 other releases:

(c) The Cloister Quartette (1924) (as "Good Christian Men Rejoice")
Recorded around July 1924 in London
Matrix A 1199
 



(c) New Temple Quartette (1926) (as "Good Christian Men Rejoice")
Matrix A 3558
Recorded around July 1926 in London
 



And the same New Temple Quartette recording here above, was also released in the USA on the Columbia-label

(c) Temple Quartet (1927) (as "Good Christian Men Rejoice")
Matrix A 3558
Recorded around July 1926 in London
Released in 1927 on Columbia 1125-D (in the USA)





(c) The Cloister Choir (1928) (as "Good Christian Men Rejoice")
Recorded October 16, 1928 in the UK
Released on The Victory #22
 

The Cloister Choir is probably the same as St Stephen's Choir ?





(c) The English Singers (1928) (as "In Dulci Jubilo")
Recorded between October1927 and April 1928 
Matrix 3465 
Released as part of 12 record album on the Roycroft-label (Roycroft # 161)







(c) BBC Chorus conducted by Joseph Lewis (1934) (as "Good Christian Men Rejoice")
Released on Columbia DB-1452 (UK)
Also released on Columbia 245-M (USA)



























(c) Victor Chapel Choir (1941)  (as "We Three Kings Of Orient Are / Good Christian Men, Rejoice")
Recorded August 14, 1941 in New York
Released on Victor 27645 as part of "Carols For Christmas" album set.







(c) Louvin Brothers (1960) (as "Good Christian Men Rejoice")


Listen here:




(c) The Reapers (1986) (as "Good Christian Men Rejoice")
In 1986 former member of the English prog rock band Gentle Giant, Kerry Minnear recorded a Christmas-album with the band The Reapers. "Good Christian Men Rejoice" was one of the songs, with that Gentle Giant feel.



Listen here:





(c) Michael Hedges (1990) (as "In Dulci Jubilo (Good Christian Men Rejoice)")


Listen here





(c) John Fahey (1991) (as "Good Christian Men, Rejoice, Rejoice")


Listen here:





In 1974 and 1975 Mike Oldfield recorded 2 versions of the song.
The 1st version from 1974 credit it to J.S. Bach, arr. Oldfield.
The second version from 1975 credit it to R. L. Pearsall, arr. Oldfield.
As we saw above Bach and Pearsall both wrote arrangements of it, but as we saw too the song dates further back than either composer.

Mike Oldfield had recorded the first version of this song in late 1974 as the B-side to his single, "Don Alfonso", which did not chart, playing all instruments himself.
It was in memory of his mother (Maureen) after she died in late 1974

(c) Mike Oldfield (1974) (as "In Dulci Jubilo (For Maureen)")


Mike Oldfield - Don Alfonso (Vinyl) at Discogs

Listen here:


Or here:



In 1975 Mike felt a better version could be done, and re-recorded it in October 1975 at the Manor, but incorporating some of the previous version's backing tracks recorded November 1974 at the Beacon, his home studio.

(c) Mike Oldfield (1975) (as "In Dulci Jubilo")


Listen here:




(c) Smalltown Poets (2011) (as "Good Christian Men Rejoice")


Listen here:





(c) Mediæval Bæbes (2003) (as "In Dulci Jubilo")


Listen here:




Furder reading

donderdag 17 november 2016

Jarabe Tapatio (1924) / Mexican Hat Dance (1933) / La Raspa (1946) / Mexican Hat Rock(1958) / De Hoedendans (1963)


The word Jarabe (from Arabic xarab), originally meaning "herb mixture", denotes the combination of various Mexican musics (sones) and dances (zapateados).
Tapatío, the popular demonym of the city of Guadalajara, reflects the origin of this particular jarabe.



The Mexican Hat Dance developed during the Mexican revolution and holding elements from every part of the country (Jalisco, Yucatan, Michoacan, Puebla, Mexico City), performed in typical outfit (china poblana for the girl, charro suit for the boy).
The dance represents the courtship of a man and a woman, with the woman first rejecting the man’s advances, then eventually accepting them.
Halfway through the routine te man throws his sombrero on the floor, his girlfriend picks it up.


The next film was taken by American tourists in Mexico in the late 1920's. It shows performers wearing traditional clothing and performing the Jarabe Tapatio, or Mexican Hat Dance. This dance starts at 20 seconds in the Youtube below.



There is some debate regarding when El Jarabe Tapatío was first compiled. Some attribute it to a professor of music in Guadalajara, Jesús González Rubio (d. 1874 ), who purportedly compiled numerous jarabes, including an arrangement he made of Jarabe Tapatío.

A written reference of the melody is the issuance of a Mexican copyright on July 8, 1919, for Jarabe Tapatio, arranged by Felipe Alonso Partichela, and published by Wagner y Levien, Sucrs., Mexico city.
The original receipt no. 667 for the copyright has been seen at Promotora Hispano Americana de Musica, S.A., Mexico city. No copy of this printing of Jarabe Tapatio has been found, but is believed to be the same as the Partichela arrangement published as Mexican Hat Dance--Popular Jarabe Tapatio in 1933 by Edward B. Marks music Corporation, New York.
 





One music researcher determined that the earliest known printing of the melody is in sheet music entitled Jarabe Tapatio, arreglo para piano por Antonio Macias C., and published November 2, 1916 by Edmundo C. Arguelles, El Paso, Texas. Front cover is gray and black, m. on pp. 1-3 p.n. 32. LC (copyright copy deposited November 25 1916). The copyright records also state that the arranger, Antonio Macias, is a citizen of Mexico, domiciled in El Paso.




There may be other earlier versions too, for example, another arrangement was written by the Mexican composer Manuel Maria Ponce. Ponce used the "Mexican folk tune" Jarabe tapatio as thematic material in pieces he composed in 1911 called Rapsodia Mexicana I and  in 1913 called Rapsodia Mexicana II.

On the bottom of this page is also a very early "Jarabe Tapatio" with a rather different melody.

Although all of these different versions and claims regarding the first publication date of El Jarabe Tapatío may be interesting, pinpointing an actual publication date may not really matter because most musicians consider El Jarabe Tapatío to be traditional Mexican folk music since it is a medley of popular songs such as:
Jarabe de Jalisco – a jarabe from the state of Jalisco
Jarabe del Atole – a well-known traditional jarabe from the late 1800's
Son del Palomo – one of Mexico's most well-known sones
a Jarana Yucateca – a popular dance style from the Yucatán Peninsula
Jarabe Moreliano – a jarabe from the state of Michoacán
La Diana – the final section of most jarabes





Here are some recordings of the song:

(c) Jesús Abrego and Leopoldo Picazo (1905) (as "El Jarabe Tapatío")

This one may not have the rather familiar melody.




(c) Jesús Abrego and Leopoldo Picazo (1908) (as "El Jarabe Tapatío")

This one may also not have the rather familiar melody.




Here below the first recording I found, with the familiar melody:

(c) Banda Cubana Mexicana (1924) (as "Jarabe Tapatío")
Recorded September 9, 1924 in New York.
Released on Okeh 16144
Also released on Vocalion 8667




Listen here:





(c) Banda Internacional (=Nat Shilkret) (1925) (as "Jarabe Tapatío")
Recorded Jamuary 27, 1925 in New York
Released on Victor 77926




(o) Banda Columbia (1925) (as "Jarabe Tapatío")
Released on Columbia 2090-X


Listen here




(c) Vocalion Concert Band (1925) (as "Jarabe Tapatío")
Recorded June 29, 1925 in New York
Released on Vocalion 15070B
Also on Brunswick 40126 (as by Brunswick Concert Band)





(c) Los Cancioneros del Bajío (1926) (as "Jarabe Tapatío")
Recorded December 14, 1926 in Mexico City




(c) Orquesta Típica Mexicana "Anahuac" (1926) (as "Jarabe Tapatío")
Recorded December 15, 1926 in Mexico City
Released on Victor 79174-B
 



Listen here:




(c) Quinteto Tipico Mexicano (1926) (as "Jarabe Tapatío")
Recorded December 1926 in New York
Released on Columbia 2570-X



Listen here: 




(c) Banda De Policia De Mexico (1928) (as "Jarabe Tapatío")
Directed by Velino M Preza
Recorded May 1928 in Mexico City
Released on Brunswick 40402





(c) Banda Columbia (1928) (as "Jarabe Tapatio")
Recorded August 1928 in New York.
Matrix W 96708
Released on Columbia 3229-X




 (c) Orquesta Posadas (1929) (as "Jarabe Tapatío")


Listen here:





(c) Orquesta Pajaro Azul 1934 (as "Popular Jarabe Tapatio")
Recorded March 26, 1934 in the Texas Hotel in San Antonia, Texas
Released on Bluebird B-2225
 


Listen here:


Or here:




(c) Mexican Dance Orchestra (1938) (as "Jarabe Tapatío")
conducted by Manuel S. Acuna
Recorded April 6, 1938 in Los |Angeles
Released on Decca 2167
 



Listen here:



In 1946 Manuel S. Acuna re-recorded a version for the Imperial label:




(c) Les Brown and his Orchestra (1941) (as "Mexican Hat Dance")
Recorded September 17, 1941
Released on Okeh 6696


Listen here:



Re-released a few years later on Columbia 37349




(c) Xavier Cugat And His Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra ‎(1944) 
(as "Jarabe Tapatio (Mexican Hat Dance)")
Recorded April 2, 1942
Released on Columbia 36697


Listen here:





(c) Noël De Selva And His Pan-American Orchestra (1946) (as "Mexican Hat Dance")


Listen here:




(c) Al Sack And His Orchestra (1946) (as "Mexican Hat Dance")


Rereleased on the TOPS label

Listen here




(c) Ricardo Montalban and orchestra (1947) (as "Jarabe Tapatio")
Presented in the film "Fiesta (1947)


In fact this version is a combination of "Jarabe Tapatio" and "La Raspa" (another Mexican traditional)

Watch it here:




(c) Camille Howard (1949) (as "Fiesta In Old Mexico")



Listen here:





(c) Brother Lee Roy and his Band (1954) (as "Mexican Hat Dance (Jarabe Tapatio)")
Released on Epic 9061
 


In fact this version of "Mexican Hat Dance" is a combination of "Jarabe Tapatio" and 
"La Raspa" (another Mexican traditional) as the intro.





(c) The Applejacks (1958) (as "Mexican Hat Rock")

The Applejacks also combine "Jarabe Tapatio" with the "La Raspa"intro.


Listen here





(c) Chubby Checker (1960)  (as "Mexican Hat Twist")


In 1960 Chubby Checker only used the "La Raspa" quote for his version of "Mexican Hat Twist"

Listen here:





(c) Manuel and His Music of the Mountains (1962) (as "Mexican Hat Dance")


Listen here:




(c) De Spelbrekers 1963 (as "De Hoedendans) (Mexican Hat Dance)")


Listen here





Mexican Hat Dance was occasionally noodled by the Grateful Dead during tuning and delays.

(c) Grateful Dead (1989) 
Live introducing "Feel Like a Stranger"


Listen here:





(c) Brave Combo (1997)  (as "Mexican Hat Dance")

Brave Combo's "Mexican Hat Dance" also combines "Jarabe Tapatio" with the "La Raspa" intro.



Listen here:




As I said above some versions of "Mexican Hat Dance combine the "La Raspa" intro with the "Jarabe Tapatio" tune.

The earliest recording of "La Raspa" I found is from 1946:

(o) Orquesta Juan S. Garrido (1946)  (as "La Raspa")
Released in 1946 on Peerless 2238


Listen here:




And as I said in the beginning of this post there are also versions of "Jarabe Tapatico" with a rather different melody. Those were mostly versions from before the Mexican revolution.

Already in 1904 Rafael Herrera Robinson sings a different "Jarabe Tapatio"
Released on Edison Gold Moulded Record 18508



Or here:





Rafael also recorded the song for the Columbia label in 1908 (Columbia - C191)
 

donderdag 3 november 2016

Rózsi Lodczba Megyünk (1914) / Rosa Wir Fahr'n Nach Lodz (1915) / Theo Wir Fahr'n Nach Lodz (1974) / Henry Let's Go To Town (1974) / Danny teach Me To Dance (1974) / Theo On Va Au Bal (1974)


"Theo, wir fahr'n nach Lodz" is the title of a hit by Vicky Leandros from 1974.
It became an evergreen and was based on the older song "Rosa, wir fahr'n nach Lodz" by Fritz Löhner-Beda and Artur Marcell Werau from 1914, which was a satirical hymn at start of the First World War.

But the origin of the song even goes back to a peasant song "Rózsi Lodczba Megyünk" from the Thirty Years' War. The historical background of the song is the Polish city of Łódź. In the 19th century, a text was written that referred to the industrial boom in the city, which led to large parts of the rural population leaving the villages and moving to the city ("Ich Habe Diese Landluft Satt...") (="I'm Fed Up With This Country Air..."). 
The Jews of the city of Łódź mockingly sang "Itzek, Komm Mit Nach Lodz..." (=Itzek, Come With Me To Lodz...") and ironically equated the city, which was then developing into an industrial metropolis, with the promised land. 
But there were also numerous other versions such as "Leo, Wir Geh’n Nach Lodz, Wir Bau’n Ein Haus Und Eine Fabrik…" (="Leo, We're Going To Lodz, We're Going To Build A House And A Factory..." Even today, the city is considered an exceptional example of 19th-century industrial architecture. 

 In 1915 the two Austrians Fritz Löhner-Beda, an operetta librettist, and Artur Marcell Werau published their title "Rosa, Wir Fahr'n Nach Lodz". It was a soldier's song ("march couplet"), because their "Rosa" was the Austro-Hungarian Army's 30.5 cm mortar manufactured by the Bohemian armaments company Skoda, the counterpart to Krupp's "Dicke Bertha" in Germany. In the original Austrian text, Franzl's difficult bride is nothing other than the "Rosa" mortar, with which he embarks on his honeymoon to Lodz at the beginning of the war. The song was a satirical "hymn about our 30.5 ctm. mortar, called Rosa”.




(o) Favorite Brass Band (1914) (as "Rózsi Lodczba Megyünk")
Recorded 1914 in Budapest
Matrix 15584 (198) 
Released on Favorite 1-23658
 

Listen here:


Or here:




(c) Újváry Károly (=Karl Ujvári) (1915) (as "Rosa wir fahr'n nach Lodz")
Karl Ujvári (vocals) and Choir with Favorite-Streich Orchester Wien
Recorded 1915 in Budapest
Matrix 177
Released on Favorite 1-025184
 
 

Listen here:    Österreichische Mediathek


In 1972 the song "Rosa Wir Fahr'n Nach Lodz" appeared in the Austrian TV series Die Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk
Listen here at 43 minutes in the next Youtube link: Schwejk 6/13 - YouTube


This is how the pop composer Leo Leandros (=Leandros Papathanasiou) got to know the text and melody. Leandros commissioned the Hamburg lyricist and music producer Klaus Munro to write a new text for the melody. Munro left it with the reference to Łódź and oriented himself again to the rural exodus scene that dominated the original text.

Leo Leandros was the father and manager of Vicky Leandros and for her he produced the first version with the adapted lyrics: "Theo, Wir Fahr'n Nach Lodz".
Released in 1974 Vicky's "Theo, Wir Fahr'n Nach Lodz" stayed in the German single-charts for 28 weeks and was the only number one hit in Germany for her.

(c) Vicky Leandros (1974) (as ("Theo, Wir Fahr'n Nach Lodz")


Listen here:




Vicky Leandros also recorded a French version (for the French and Canadian market) and 2 different English versions (one for the US and one for the UK market)



In 2009 Marc-Marie Huijbregts sang a portion of "Theo, Wir Fahr'n Nach Lodz" in episode 6 of the Dutch television series "'t Vrije Schaep"
't Vrije Schaep is a sequel to the remake of the successful television series "'t Schaep met de 5 pooten"

(c) Marc-Marie Huijbregts (2009) (Duitse medley: inc "Theo, Wir Fahr'n Nach Lodz")


Listen here:




More versions