Dormi, Jesus

Engraving by Hieronymus Wierix (1553–1619)

Dormi, Jesu ("Sleep, Jesus") or The Virgin's Cradle Hymn ("The Virgin Lullaby" / "The Lullaby of the Virgin") is a short lullaby that is sung as a Christmas carol ( Carol ) in English-speaking countries.

history

The song was collected by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge during a trip to Germany and published in his collection Sibylline Leaves ( Sibylline Leaves ) in 1817 . According to his own comment, Coleridge copied the Latin text from a "print of the Blessed Virgin in a Catholic village in Germany", which he later translated into English. The text, which actually comes from a collection of Flemish devotional engravings by Hieronymus Wierix (1553–1619), has inspired a number of modern settings.

Dubbing

A well-known setting is by Edmund Rubbra (1901–1986), another version by John Rutter .

text

Latin original	English translation by Coleridge
Dormi, Jesus! Mater ridet Quae tam dulcem somnum videt,     Dormi, Jesus! blandule! Si non-dormis, Mater plorat, Inter fila cantans orat,     Blande, veni, somnule.	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!

Alternative title

The virgin's cradle hymn; Dormi, Jesus! - Sleep, sweet babe !; The Virgin's Cradle Hymn

Web links

• hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com
• Gary Bachlund (with a German translation by Bertram Kottmann)
• The LiederNet Archive
• kings.cam.ac.uk ( A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols , 1999)

Videos

• The Virgin's Cradle Hymn on YouTube , choral setting by Edmund Rubbra (The Ranelagh Singers)
• Dormi Jesu on YouTube , choral setting by John Rutter ( Choir of King's College , Cambridge )

References and footnotes

1. ^ ^{A b c} Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Sibylline Leaves. Rest Fenner, London 1817, p. 260 ( digitized in the Google book search).
2. ↑ The Virgin's Cradle Hymn . In: The Catholic World , Volume 4 (1866/67), No. 21 (December 1866), ISSN  0008-848X , p. 388 ( digitized versionhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3D~GB%3D~IA%3Dcatholicworld04pauluoft~MDZ%3D%0A~SZ%3D388~ double-sided%3D~LT%3D~PUR%3D )
3. ↑ The Oxford Book of Carols included.