Sleep well, you heavenly boy

Sleep well, you heavenly boy you is a German-language Christmas carol in the form of a lullaby of the shepherds at the manger in Bethlehem , the text of which was published by CF Daniel Schubart in 1786 and which was published with its current melody in 1814.

history

The text comes from Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart , who published it in 1786 - while he was still in prison for ten years on the Hohenasperg - under the title Der Hirten Lied am Kripplein in the second volume of his Complete Poems . Schubart, who was also active as a composer, also created his own setting of the text, but it is hardly known.

Carl Neuner , whose setting is said to have originated around 1810, is usually given as the creator of the melody that is widespread today . In 1814 it was published in the song collection Musikalischer Jugendfreund , which was published as a magazine . Neuner's melody is very similar in some twists to a spiritual song by the Bohemian Brethren , which was published in 1588, so that it can be assumed that Neuner was based on a folk song-like melody.

Heinrich Reimann published the most widespread melody version in 1895. Reimann does not give Carl Neuner as his model, but an oral recording from the Silesian county of Glatz . Its version is very similar to that of Neuner, but characterized by stronger sixteenth-note movements in the final section. It is not known whether Neuner's melody was broken up by errant singers, or whether both melody versions are based on a common source.

A similar melody version has come down to us under the name of the composer Franz Joseph Fehr (1746–1804). Another widespread setting was created by Johann Kaspar Aiblinger under the title Bei der Krippe Jesu . Further settings are by Carl Loewe , Richard Strauss and Benedikt Widmann .

Max Reger composed a movement for four-part choir based on Neuner's melody in 1900.

By an arrangement of the Scottish church musician and cathedral organist of St Paul's Cathedral , Charles Macpherson (1870-1927), as The shepherds' cradle song ("O sleep thou heaven-born treasure thou"; English text by Arthur Foxton Ferguson ) held the song also move into the English-speaking world.

text

Sleep well, you heavenly boy,
sleep well, you sweet child!
Angels fan you in peace
With a gentle heavenly wind ,
We poor shepherds sing you
A hearty lullaby for.
Sleep!
Heavenly son sleep!

Maria has
quietly covered you with a mother's gaze;
And Joseph withholds the breath,
That he does not awaken you.
The little sheep that are in the stable fall
silent before you, Heavenly Child.
Sleep!
Heavenly son, sleep!

Soon you will grow up, then your blood will flow
down from Golgotha;
People's rage will strike you on the cross,
then you will be laid in the grave
Always have your eyes closed,
because you need sweet rest.
Sleep!
Heavenly son, sleep! Many a child still falls

asleep in their mother's lap
;
But the poor child grows up,
so it is afraid and tormented.
O Infant Jesus! through your grace,
help them bear with patience.
Sleep!
Heavenly son, sleep!

Melodies

Melody version by Carl Neuner:

$\ relative f '{\ key f \ major \ time 6/8 \ partial 8 \ autoBeamOff f8 | a4 a8 a [bes] c | f, 4 f8 f4 g8 | a4 f8 c '[bes] a | g4. ~ g4 c, 8 | f4 a8 c4 a8 | bes [c] d c4 a8 | g4 g8 g [a] b | c4. ~ c4 c16 [e] | e8 [a,] d c4 e16 [d] | c4. ~ c4 g8 | a4 g8 f4 g8 | a4 c16 [bes] g4 g8 | a4 g8 f4 g8 | a4 c16 [bes] g4 r8 | a4. g | f4 g8 a4 g8 | g4. f4 \ bar "|." } \ addlyrics {Sleep well, you heaven - kna - be you, sleep well you sweet - it child! You are fanning yourself in peace and quiet with a gentle sky wind, with a gentle sky wind. We poor shepherds sing a hearty lullaby for you. Sleep, heavenly sons sleep! }$

Melody version by Heinrich Reimann:

$\ relative f '{\ key f \ major \ time 6/8 \ partial 8 \ autoBeamOff c'8 | a4 a8 a [bes] c | f, 4 f8 f4 g8 | a4 f8 c '[bes] a | g4. ~ g8 rg | bes4 bes8 a [bes] c | d4 d8 c4 c8 | f4 c8 bes [a] g | f4. ~ f8 rg | bes4 a8 g4 bes8 | d4 c8 bes4 c8 | a [bes] ac [d] e | f [e] d c4. | a8 [ca] g4. | a8 [ca] g4. | c4 c8 f8 [c] a | g [ag] f4 \ bar "|." } \ addlyrics {Sleep well, you heaven - kna - be you, sleep well you sweet - it child! Fanning you in peace and quiet with a gentle heavenly wind. We poor shepherds sing a hearty lullaby for you. Sleep, sleep! Heavenly sons sleep! }$

Alternative melody by Johann Kaspar Aiblinger:

$\ relative f '' {\ key f \ major \ time 6/8 \ partial 8 \ autoBeamOff c8 | a4 c8 bes4 c8 | a4 d8 c4 c8 | f4 c8 d [c] a | g4. ~ g8 r c8 | a4 c8 bes4 c8 | a4 d8 c4 c8 | f4 c8 d [c] a | g4. ~ g8 rg | bes4 a8 g4 bes8 | d4 c8 bes4 c8 | a8. [bes16] a8 f'4 d8 | d [c] b c4 r8 | c4. a4 r8 | c4. a4 r8 | f'4 e8 f [c] a | g4. f4 \ bar "|." } \ addlyrics {Sleep well, you heaven - kna - be you, sleep well you sweet - it child! Fanning you in peace and quiet with a gentle heavenly wind. We poor shepherds sing a hearty lullaby for you. Sleep, sleep! Heavenly sons sleep! }$

Another melody, known as Alsatian folk tune, arranged for organ by Alexandre Guilmant in 1908:

$\ relative g {\ key f \ major \ time 6/8 \ partial 8 \ autoBeamOff c8 | f4 a8 c4 a8 | g [f] g a4 g8 | a [c] f, g [f] e | f4. ~ f8 rc | f4 a8 c4 a8 | g [f] g a4 g8 | a4 a8 b4 b8 | c4. ~ c8 rc | c4 a8 a4 c8 | bes4 g8 g4 bes8 | a4 f8 bes4 a8 | a [g] g g4 r8 | c4. a4 r8 | a4. f4 r8 | f4 a8 c8 [bes] g | g4. f4 \ bar "|." } \ addlyrics {Sleep well, you heaven - kna - be you, sleep well you sweet - it child! Fanning you in peace and quiet with a gentle heavenly wind. We poor shepherds sing a hearty lullaby for you. Sleep, sleep! Heavenly sons sleep! }$

literature

Theo Mang, Sunhilt Mang (ed.): The song source . Noetzel, Wilhelmshaven 2007, ISBN 978-3-7959-0850-8 , pp. 1065 f .

Web links

Sleep well, you heavenly boy at ingeb.org
Sleep well you heavenly boy at volksliederarchiv.de
Lullaby of the shepherds in the song project by Carus-Verlag and SWR2
Sleep well, you Himmelsknabe you at Allmusic (English)
Sleep well, you heavenly boy in the deutscheslied.com database
Sleep well, you heavenly boy in the Christian song database
Sleep well, you heavenly boy , you at hymnary.org

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart: Complete poems. Second volume. Book printing of the Herzogliche Hohen Carls-Schule, Stuttgart 1786, p. 387 ( digitized in the Google book search).

^ Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart: Musical Rhapsodies. First issue. Book printing of the Ducal High Carls School, Stuttgart 1786, p. 22 ( digitized version ). Printed by: Max Friedlaender : Das deutsche Lied im 18. Jahrhundert. Sources and Studies. First volume, second section: music examples. Cotta, Stuttgart and Berlin 1902, p. 304 f. ( Digitized version ).

↑ Volkmar of Pechstaedt: Neuner, Carl (Borromeo). In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 12 (Mercadante - Paix). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2004, ISBN 3-7618-1122-5 , Sp. 1024-1026 ( online edition , subscription required for full access)

↑ https://opac.rism.info/search?id=450041057

↑ Caspar Ett , Johann Michael Hauber (ed.): Musical childhood friend. Dedicated to the boards of the elementary school system in the Kingdom of Bavaria. 1814.

↑ ^a ^b Heinrich Reimann: The German spiritual song from the oldest to our time; edited and edited by Heinrich Reimann. Volume 5. Simrock, Berlin 1895, p. 37 ( digitized version ).

↑ Lothar Lechner: My Christmas Book (= Edition Schott 4200). Schott, Mainz 1950. Extended new edition: Schott, Mainz 2009, ISBN 978-3-7957-0942-6 , p. 35.

↑ ^a ^b Notes from the public domain of At the Nativity of Jesus (Johann Kaspar Aiblinger) in the Choral Public Domain Library - ChoralWiki (English)

↑ Sleep well you heavenly boy at The LiederNet Archive, accessed on December 7, 2015 (English)

↑ Public domain notes by Max Reger: Lullaby of the shepherds at the Bethlehem manger "Sleep well, you heavenly boy". No. 7 from "Seven sacred folk songs for mixed choir" in the Choral Public Domain Library - ChoralWiki (English)

↑ 7 Spiritual Folk Songs (Reger, Max) : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project

↑ Notes from the public domain of Schlafwohl , du Himmelsknabe you (Charles Macpherson) in the Choral Public Domain Library - ChoralWiki (English)
^ Fidelio F. Finke , Diethard Hellmann , Siegfried Köhler a . a .: Songs of Christmas (= Breitkopf Edition 5871). Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1957 a. ö., p. 88 f.
^ Ingeborg Weber-Kellermann : The book of Christmas carols. Schott, Mainz 1982, ISBN 3-7957-2061-3 , p. 175 f.
↑ chant et noëls pour orgue, Op.93 (Guilmant, Alexandre) : notes and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project

[Schubart-Gedichte-1] A ^b Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart: Complete poems. Second volume. Book printing of the Herzogliche Hohen Carls-Schule, Stuttgart 1786, p. 387 ( digitized in the Google book search).

[2] Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart: Musical Rhapsodies. First issue. Book printing of the Ducal High Carls School, Stuttgart 1786, p. 22 ( digitized version ). Printed by: Max Friedlaender : Das deutsche Lied im 18. Jahrhundert. Sources and Studies. First volume, second section: music examples. Cotta, Stuttgart and Berlin 1902, p. 304 f. ( Digitized version ).

[3] Volkmar of Pechstaedt: Neuner, Carl (Borromeo). In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 12 (Mercadante - Paix). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2004, ISBN 3-7618-1122-5 , Sp. 1024-1026 ( online edition , subscription required for full access)

[4] ttps://opac.rism.info/search?id=450041057

[5] Caspar Ett , Johann Michael Hauber (ed.): Musical childhood friend. Dedicated to the boards of the elementary school system in the Kingdom of Bavaria. 1814.

[Reimann-6] Heinrich Reimann: The German spiritual song from the oldest to our time; edited and edited by Heinrich Reimann. Volume 5. Simrock, Berlin 1895, p. 37 ( digitized version ).

[7] Lothar Lechner: My Christmas Book (= Edition Schott 4200). Schott, Mainz 1950. Extended new edition: Schott, Mainz 2009, ISBN 978-3-7957-0942-6 , p. 35.