Coventry Carol

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The Child Murder at Bethlehem , painting by Cornelis van Haarlem (1591)

Coventry Carol ( Coventry Carol ) is an English Christmas carol from the 16th century . The text comes from the Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors , a mystery play of Coventry from the 15th century .

The song refers to the Bethlehemite child murder , the murder of all the boys of Bethlehem on the orders of King Herod the Great , as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew . It will be sung by the women of Bethlehem in the game before the events begin.

A well-known choral version of the work comes from the English composer Martin Shaw (1875–1958).

There are slightly different versions of the text.

text

English translation
Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Lullay, thou little tiny child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
O sisters too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we do sing
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Herod, the king, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight,
All young children to slay.
That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!
And ever mourn and sigh,
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Luli, lulai, you little, tiny child,
Bai, bai, luli, lulai.
Lulai, you little, tiny child
Bai, bai, luli, lulai.
Oh sisters what can we do
To protect today
That poor young man we sing for
Bai, bai, luli, lulai.
Herod the King in his rage
He commissioned today
His soldiers in his service,
Slaughter all young children.
From me this woe, poor child, for you!
And always sadness and sighing,
For your parting neither speech nor song,
Bai, bai, lulai, lulai.

various

The English composer Kenneth Leighton (1929–1988) set the text to music anew.

Piano version (Anonymous)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Two Coventry Corpus Christi plays (digitized version), p. 32: Song II
  2. ↑ “When Herod saw that he had been betrayed by the wise men, he became very angry and sent and had all the children in Bethlehem and in the whole region, who were two years old and under, killed after the time he had been by the wise men had explored exactly. "( Matthew 2:16 EU )
  3. ↑ See e.g. B. Oxford Book of Carols and 100 Carols for Choirs .