23 Season 2019-2020

Sunday, December 15, at 7:30 Vienna Boys Choir

Christmas in Vienna

Manuel Huber Conductor

Plainsong Chant “Domine exaudi orationem meam”

Palestrina “Hodie Christus natus est”

Duruflé“Tota pulchra es Maria,” from Four Motets on Gregorian Themes, Op. 10, No. 2

Salazar “Tarará qui yo soy Antón”

Verdi “Laudi alla vergine Maria,” from Four Sacred Pieces

Wirth “Sanctus—Benedictus,” from Missa apostolica

Schafer “Gamelan”

Copland “I Bought Me a Cat,” from Old American Songs, Set 1

Bernstein “Somewhere,” from West Side Story

Gershwin “I Got Rhythm,” from Girl Crazy

Beethoven/arr. Warren “Ode to Joy (Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee),” from Sister Act 2

Sherman “I Wanna Be Like You,” from The Jungle Book

Intermission 24

Traditional/arr. Praetorius and Wirth “Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen”

Wade/arr. Wirth “Adeste fideles”

Reidinger/arr. Wirth “Es wird scho glei dumpa”

Blanco “El burrito de Belén”

Traditional/arr. Rivas “Adorar al niño”

Traditional/arr. Wirth “Les Anges dans nos campagnes”

Mendelssohn/arr. Wirth “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”

Mason/arr. Wirth “Joy to the World”

Adam “O Holy Night”

Berlin “White Christmas”

Styne/arr. Shaw “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow”

Marks/arr. Langford “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”

Gruber “Stille Nacht”

This program runs approximately 2 hours.

Tonight’s concert is sponsored by Hotel Residenz Palais Coburg.

Philadelphia Orchestra concerts are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday afternoons at 1 PM, and are repeated on Monday evenings at 7 PM on WRTI HD 2. Visit www.wrti.org to listen live or for more details. 25 Choir

Lukas Beck Boys have been singing at Vienna’s Imperial Chapel since 1296. In 1498 Emperor Maximilian I moved his court to Vienna, thus founding the “Hofmusikkapelle” (Chapel Imperial) and the Vienna Boys Choir. Throughout history such noted composers as Heinrich Isaac, Philippe de Monte, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Johann Joseph Fux, Wolfgang Amadè Mozart, Antonio Caldara, Antonio Salieri, Christoph Willibald Gluck, and Anton Bruckner have worked with the Choir. Jacobus Gallus and Franz Schubert were themselves choristers, and brothers Franz Joseph and Michael Haydn, members of the choir of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, frequently sang with the imperial boys choir as well. Until 1918 the boys sang exclusively for the imperial court. In 1924 the Choir was reestablished as a private organization. Today there are 100 choristers between the ages of 10 and 14, divided into four touring groups. Each spends 11 weeks of the year on tour. The choirs give some 300 concerts each year, performing for half a million spectators around the world. Since 1924 thousands of boys have experienced the joy of making choral music on over 1,000 tours in 98 different countries. The boys’ first tour of the US took place in 1931. Their first world tour was in 1934–35. On Sundays the Choir performs with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Chorus in Vienna’s Imperial Chapel, as it has done for 520 years. In 2012 the Choir opened its own concert hall, MuTh, a state- of-the-art facility. The repertoire includes everything from medieval to contemporary and experimental works. The Choir also performs regularly with major orchestras and the Vienna State Opera, as well as at the Vienna Volksoper and the Salzburg Festival. Since their first recording in 1907, the boys have recorded 376 shellacks, singles, LPs, and CDs. In 2015 the Choir signed a deal with Deutsche Grammophon; their latest release is a CD of music by multiple members of the Strauss family, Strauss for Ever. Numerous films and TV documentaries attest to the Choir’s international appeal. New York filmmaker Curt Faudon has produced three major films about the boys (Silk Road, Bridging the Gap, Songs for Mary), with a fourth, Good Shepherds, currently in production. The Choir’s education and singing tradition is considered so extraordinary that it is listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in Austria. 26 Choirmaster

Italian-born Manuel Huber, the most recent addition to the ranks of choirmaster of the Vienna Boys Choir, has an extensive experience as voice coach, choir director, and music educator in a variety of positions throughout Europe. Prior to his appointment with the Vienna Boys Choir, he was musical director of the Youth Project at the Gut Immling Opera Festival, a voice coach with the highly regarded Tölzer Knabenchor, and guest conductor of the Kammerphilharmonie Budweis, the Bad Reichenhaller Philharmonie, and Salzburg’s Mozarteum University Symphony Orchestra. Born in Brixen, South Tyrol, Mr. Huber began to play the piano at the age of six and was for years a member, and later chairman, of the Vinzentiner Knabenchor. At 15 he began to conduct, leading the children’s choir, the women’s chorus, and the church choir of Weitental. He continued his piano studies at the Claudio Monteverdi Conservatory in Brixen and went on to study choral conducting, music pedagogy, and orchestral conducting at the Salzburg Mozarteum. To this he added a major in psychology at Salzburg University, from which he graduated with distinction in 2018. Asked about his experiences with the Vienna Boys Choir, Mr. Huber says, “I love the work we do together, and especially how much the boys enjoy their music. My goal is to teach them the tools of the trade, to understand and feel music as best we can, and at the same time, see them grow up and come into their own.” 27 The Music

Plainsong Chant “Domine, exaudi orationem meam” (Lord, hear my prayer) Psalm 101:2 (102:2), Tempus per annum—Hebdomada XXIII

“Domine, exaudi“ is an Alleluia chant, to be sung after the second lesson but before the gospel in the “ordinary time“ between Pentecost and Advent. Psalm 101 (102) is both a personal, intimate prayer and a lament sung in deep distress.

Alleluia. Hallelujah. Domine, exaudi orationem meam, et clamor Lord, hear my prayer, and may my crying meus ad te veniat. come to you.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525–94) “Hodie Christus natus est” (Today Christ is born)

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who took his name from his birthplace, started his musical career as a chorister at Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. From 1544 to 1551, he worked in his native town as organist and choirmaster. In 1551 Pope Julius III summoned him to Rome as choirmaster of the Cappella Giulia, from which the Sistine Chapel recruited its singers. Palestrina also sang in the choir of the Sistine Chapel. However, in 1555, the new pope, Paul IV, dismissed Palestrina and two others from the choir because they were married. Palestrina then succeeded Orlando di Lasso as choirmaster of St John Lateran. In 1560 he resigned in protest because the choirboys were not fed enough and in 1561 was appointed choirmaster of Santa Maria Maggiore. In 1567 papal reforms declared some of his masses “unliturgical,” because he had used secular songs or words. Disenchanted with the church, Palestrina resigned from this post. He went to work for the Cardinal Ippolito d’Este. In 1571 he accepted the post of director of the Cappella Giulia.

Palestrina’s music is characterized by soaring lines, a skillful blend of voices, and a rich sound. Contemporaries saw Palestrina as the embodiment of spirituality and modesty; his compositions were admired as perfect.

“Hodie Christus natus est” is a medieval antiphon; part of the vespers on Christmas Day. The text is a paraphrase of Luke 2:11, 13–14, and Psalm 33:1. In the liturgy, it follows the exultant Magnificat, the canticle of the Virgin Mary.

Hodie Christus natus est Today Christ is born, hodie Salvator apparuit. today the Savior appears. Hodie in terra canunt angeli, Today the angels sing on earth, laetantur archangeli. and the archangels rejoice. Hodie exsultant iusti, dicentes: Today the just exult and say: Gloria in excelsis Deo. Alleluia. Glory to God in the highest. Hallelujah.

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Maurice Duruflé (1902–86) “Tota pulchra es Maria” (You are wholly beautiful, Mary)

Maurice Duruflé was introduced to organ music as a chorister at the cathedral in Rouen. At age 17 he moved to Paris, where he became the organ assistant at the church of Sainte-Clotilde, at the same time pursuing his studies at the Paris Conservatory. He left Sainte-Clotilde to become Louis Vierne’s assistant at Notre-Dame. In 1929 Duruflé became the organist of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont and in 1943 professor at the Conservatory. After a car accident in 1975, he gave up performing.

“Tota pulchra es Maria” is one of four motets on Gregorian themes, written in 1960. Duruflé’s setting is in three to four parts, with the voices imitating the Gregorian phrase. A frequent change in meter results in an ethereal, suspended quality. The original prayer dates to the fourth century. It is an antiphon for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, inspired by text from the Song of Songs and the Book of Judith.

Tota pulchra es, Maria et You are wholly beautiful, Mary, and macula originalis non est in te. the stain of original sin is not on you. Vestimentum tuum candidum quasi nix, et Your clothing is white like snow, and facies tua sicut sol. your face is like the sun. Tota pulchra es, Maria, et You are wholly beautiful, Mary, and macula originalis non est in te. the stain of original sin is not on you. Tu gloria Jerusalem, tu You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia delight of Israel, you are the honoured of populi nostri. our people. Tota pulchra es, Maria. You are wholly beautiful, Mary

Antonio de Salazar (c. 1650–1715) “Tarará qui yo soy Antón” (Tarara, I am Anton)

Villancicos, “village songs,” originated in Spain; they are derived from medieval dances. They combine religious stories with everyday life. Villancicos were especially popular in the New World in the 17th century. In Mexico they were often part of a theatrical performance before or after a service; such performances involved the whole community and would have served to explain Biblical texts. “Tarará qui yo soy Antón” is a so-called “negrillo,“ a “black“ villancico: It has powerful African rhythms, it mentions African dances, and it mimics an African pronunciation of Mexican Spanish (chilubina for querubines, cherubs; gluria for glory).

Salazar was born in Puebla de los Angeles around 1650. He is attested as maestro de capilla at Puebla Cathedral from 1679 until around 1688; from 1688 until his death, he served in the same position at Mexico City Cathedral.

(Estribillo) (Chorus) Tarará, tarará, qui yo soi Antón, Tarara, I am Anton, ninglito li nacimiento, black by birth, qui lo canto lo más y mijó. and I sing more and better. 29

(Coplas) (Verses) Yo soi Antón molinelo, I am Anton the miller, y ese niño qui nació, and this newborn child, hijo es li unos lablalola, is the son of working folk, li tula mi estimación. he has all my esteem.

Pul eso mi sonajiya, And so with my rattle, cascabela y a tambó my bells and my tambourine, voy a baila yo a Belena, I’ll go to Bethlehem pultilica y camalón. to dance the Puerto Rico and the Cameroun.

Mílalo quantu pastola, Look at all those shepherds buscando a la niño Dios, looking for the God-child, van curriendo a la pultale they run to the stable pala daye la adolación. to offer their adoration.

La sagala cilubina The holy cherubs, vístila li risplandor, dressed in splendor, las canta sus viyancica, they sing their villancicos, gluria cun cumpasyón. glorias, with good rhythm and sound.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) “Laudi alla vergine Maria” (Hymn to the Virgin Mary)

Giuseppe Verdi, who is most famous for his many operas, was a professed agnostic; he did not have much time for traditional religion. His own rare sacred works express a deep and very personal belief. The “Laudi alla vergine Maria” was written c. 1897–98 for a cappella high voices. The text, the final song from Dante’sDivine Comedy, is a prayer of St. Bernard, who prays to Mary on Dante’s behalf. Looking up Dante catches a glimpse of divinity and a reflection of mankind, but is blinded by the brightness and finally returns to the old cycle of human life and human longing. Verdi only selected the beginning of the XXXIII canto for his piece, making it a praise of Mary.

Vergine madre, figlia del tuo Figlio Virgin mother, daughter of your son, umile ed alta più che creatura humbler and nobler than any creature, termine fisso you are the predetermined goal of the d’eterno consiglio. eternal counsel,

Tu sei colei che l’umana natura Through you human nature nobilitasti sì, che il suo fattore Was so ennobled that its creator non disdegnò di farsi Didn’t think it beneath him to become a sua fattura. creation himself.

Nel ventre tuo si raccese l’amore In your womb the love began, per lo cui caldo nell’eterna pace And through its warmth, in this eternal peace, così è germinato questo fiore. This flower could blossom.

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Qui sei a noi meridiana face Here you are our midday light di caritade e giuso, intra i mortali Of charity, and below, among mortals sei di speranza fontana vivace. You are the living source of hope.

Donna, sei tanto grande e tanto vali Lady, you are so great and so mighty, che qual vuol grazia ed Whoever wants grace and a te non ricorre does not seek you out, sua disianza vuol volar senz’ali. Longs to fly without wings.

La tua benignità non pur soccorre Your goodness helps not only a chi domanda, ma molte fiate The person who asks, many times liberamente domandar precorre. Has it been given gladly before the plea.

In te misericordia, in te pietate, In you there is mercy, in you there is pity, in te magnificenza, In you there is splendour, in te s’aduna in you all goodness is found quantunque in creatura è di bontate. that ever was in any creature.

Ave. Ave.

Gerald Wirth (b. 1965) “Sanctus—Benedictus,” from Missa apostolica

Gerald Wirth, the artistic director of the Vienna Boys Choir, writes much choral and vocal music. He likes to use mythological, philosophical, or spiritual texts as a starting point; he often combines texts from different cultures, and he writes in a number of different languages. He translates the words into music that is meant to convey the underlying emotion. His works are performed by choirs around the world. Wirth has written a number of sacred pieces for use in a church context, among them several settings of the Mass Ordinary, the fixed parts of the Roman rite liturgy. HisMissa apostolica was written in the 1980s; its name refers to the Apostolic Creed, as an early statement of Christian belief.

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Sabaoth. of Hosts. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua, Heaven and earth are filled with your glory, Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest. Benedictus qui venit Blessed is he who comes in nomine Domini. in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.

Raymond Murray Schafer (b. 1933) “Gamelan”

Canadian composer Raymond Murray Schafer studied harpsichord, piano, and music theory at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, and composition at the University of Toronto. He later studied in Vienna and London and holds a piano degree from the Royal 31

College of Music. He has received numerous prizes for his achievements, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1974, the Prix Honegger in 1980, the Glenn Gould Prize in 1987, the Governor General’s Award for the Performing Arts in 2009, and a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2013. Schafer, who has a keen interest in different cultures, their philosophy, literature, and music, taught at the Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. In 1971 he founded the World Soundscape Project, now the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology. He coined the term “soundscape,” defining it as the sum of the sounds surrounding us.

Gamelan, or gambelan, is a term describing an indigenous Indonesian orchestra of mainly percussion instruments: gongs, xylophones, metallophones such as the Indonesian gangsa, various drums; a gamel is a kind of mallet used to play the instruments. According to legend, it was invented by Sang Hyang Guru, also referred to as Sang Hyang Jagadnata (Lord of the Universe), the god who ruled Java, to call the other gods. Today gamelan music is played during traditional ceremonies, rituals, at wayang puppet plays, and dances. An Indonesian saying states that “Nothing is official until the gong is hung.” Schafer’s piece is a re-creation of a gamelan orchestra by voices. The choir mimics the sounds of the actual instruments, there is no text.

Aaron Copland (1900–90) “I Bought Me a Cat”

Between 1945 and 1952, Aaron Copland wrote new settings of 10 old American folk and popular tunes—they were originally intended for a stage show. The first set, which includes “I Bought Me a Cat,” was finished in March 1950. The songs were famously first performed by Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten at the 1950 Aldeburgh Festival. Two years later, Irving Fine published the songs in a version for chorus. “I Bought Me a Cat” was sung to Copland by playwright Lynn Riggs, who had learned it as a boy in Oklahoma. It is a nonsense song with imitations of animals—quite similar to “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.” More and more animals are added to the verses, until the singer finally and happily acquires a wife.

Leonard Bernstein (1918–90) “Somewhere”

Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, MA, to a Ukrainian Jewish family. At a very young age, he heard a piano performance, which he loved so much that he began learning the instrument. His father was a businessman, and initially opposed his son’s interest in music. But Bernstein was persistent; he studied music at Harvard University and later at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Isabella Vengerova and Fritz Reiner, who was known to be incredibly strict. Reiner awarded Bernstein the only A he ever gave any student. Bernstein was highly regarded as a conductor, composer, and educator. He was the music director of the New York Philharmonic, and he conducted most of the world’s leading orchestras. He wrote three symphonies, two operas, and five musicals, among them West Side Story.

In the musical, “Somewhere” is sung by an off-stage soprano; in the 1961 film version, Tony sings it, trying to console Maria after having inadvertently killed her brother. Somewhere, he hopes, their love will survive.

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George Gershwin (1898–1937) “I Got Rhythm”

“I Got Rhythm” is without doubt the most popular song from the musical Girl Crazy. It has been covered countless times. Its chord progression is the basis for many jazz pieces. The tune was originally intended for a slower song in the 1928 musical Treasure Girl, but neither the song nor the musical fared particularly well. Gershwin wrote the music first and then gave it to his brother, Ira, to find words for it. When the musical opened on Broadway and the song had its premiere, singer Ethel Merman was accompanied by a jazz orchestra that included Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, and Glenn Miller.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) “Ode to Joy”

“Joyful, Joyful” is a joyous, gospel-infused adaption of Beethoven’s famous “Ode to Joy”; the English words were written by Henry van Dyke in 1907. Van Dyke, a writer, clergyman, educator, and diplomat, was professor of English at Princeton University at the time. The movie performance of “Joyful, Joyful” was produced and arranged by five- time Grammy-winner Mervyn Warren, who produces, writes, and performs film music, jazz, R&B, pop, and gospel. In 1991 he was commissioned to arrange and interpret Handel’s Messiah; the resulting album, A Soulful Celebration, received a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.

Richard M. Sherman (b. 1928) and Robert B. Sherman (1925–2012) “I Wanna Be Like You”

Brothers Richard and Robert Sherman began writing rock and roll in the 1950s, and started working for the Disney studios in the 1960s. They wrote scores for more than 20 successful films. In 1964, they won an Oscar for the music forMary Poppins. “I Wanna Be Like You” is a wistful ode to mankind delivered by another primate: King Louie, the hip and swinging monkey king in Walt Disney’s film adaptation of Rudyard Kipling‘sJungle Book, originally sung by Louis Prima.

Traditional “Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen” (Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming)

This is one of the most popular carols in Europe. It originated in Germany in the High Middle Ages, predating its first publication in the Speyer Hymnal by at least 200 years. There are a number of textual variants, expressing different theological ideas; some focus on Mary, others on the Christ child. The “rose” of verse one is a misinterpretation of the old German word for shoot or sprig (Reis); later on, it became a play on the two words. The shoot is of course Jesus, the youngest offspring of an old family: The song traces Joseph’s (and thus Jesus’s) roots to Jesse, the father of King David. This is the textual legitimization of Jesus as king, and Jesus as God.

The second verse plays on the word “rose,” echoing Isaiah 11:1 (“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a flower shall grow out of his roots”). The rose is identified as Mary, who bore Jesus, the “blossom.” This is connected to a medieval miracle legend, which 33 tells of a monk lost in deep snow. It is nearly midnight, and he cannot find his way home, when all of a sudden, he comes across a blooming rose—and he knows everything will be all right.

Es ist ein Ros entsprungen A shoot came up aus einer Wurzel zart. from a tender root. Wie uns die Alten sungen, As the ancients told us, aus Jesse kam die Art this kind stemmed from Jesse. und hat ein Blümlein bracht, And it brought fourth a flower mitten im kalten Winter, in the middle of the cold winter, wohl zu der halben Nacht. at midnight.

Das Röslein das ich meine, The little rose that I refer to davon Jesaia sagt: of which Isaiah says: Maria ist’s, die Reine, it is Mary, the pure, die uns das Blümlein bracht. who brings us the flower. Aus Gottes ew’gen Rat According to God’s eternal counsel, hat sie ein Kind geboren she bore a child, wohl zu der halben Nacht. at midnight.

Das Blümelein so kleine, The little flower, so small, das duftet uns so süss, smells so sweetly, mit seinem hellen Scheine and with its bright sheen vertreibt’s die Finsternis. it dispels the darkness. Wahr’ Mensch und wahrer Gott, True human and true God, hilf uns aus allem Leide, save us from all pain, rettet von Sünd’ und Tod. saves from sin and death.

John Francis Wade (c. 1711–86) “Adeste fideles” (O Come, All Ye Faithful)

The original Latin text is a hymn for Christmas, written by John Francis Wade, an English Catholic who spent many years in French exile. There are additional contemporary verses by French abbot Étienne Jean François Borderies (1764–1832). “Adeste fideles” became popular throughout Europe in the 1740s, and there are translations into virtually every language. The English translation by Frederick Oakeley (1802–80), an Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism in 1845, has become standard in English-speaking countries.

Adeste fideles O come all ye faithful laeti triumphantes joyful and triumphant, venite in Bethlehem. O come ye to Bethlehem. Natum videte Come and behold him, born the King of regem angelorum, Angels, venite adoremus Dominum. O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

Aeterni parentis splendorem aeternum The eternal father’s eternal splendour velatum sub carne videbimus. we will see manifest in flesh: Deum infantem pannis involutum, the child God swaddled in cloth. venite adoremus Dominum. O come let us adore the Lord.

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Anton Reidinger (1839–1912) “Es wird scho glei dumpa” (It will be dark soon)

This particular carol takes the form of a lullaby for Jesus. It would have been sung in the Alps by carollers dressed as shepherds—it is therefore a shepherd carol. Shepherd carols focus on the shepherds’ role in the Christmas story; their belief, their dignity, their reliability. Both listeners and singers are able to identify with someone who is part of the story: The Biblical shepherds are simple people, yet their gifts are as important as the gifts from the three kings. In short, the Christmas story concerns everyone. Most shepherd carols were written and sung in the local dialect. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the carols were used in Christmas pageants. Anton Reidinger was dean of a village church; he wrote this carol for his parishioners.

Es wird scho glei dumpa, It will be dark soon, es wird scho glei Nacht. it will soon be night. Drum kimm i zu dir her, Therefore I come to you, mein Heiland, auf d‘Wacht. my saviour, to guard (you). Will singen a Liadl I want to sing a carol dem Liebling, dem kloan, for (my) darling, the little one. Du mågst ja net schlåfn, You cannot sleep: I hör‘ di nur woan. I hear you fret.

Hei, hei, hei, hei! Hei, hei, hei, hei. Schlaf süß, herzliabs Kind! Sleep softly, (my) darling child.

Vergiß hiaz, o Kinderl, dein Kummer, Now forget, o child, your sorrow, dei Load, your pain, daß d‘dåda muaßt leidn im Ståll which makes you suffer in the stable, auf da Hoad. on the heather. Es ziern jå dieEngerl dei Liegerstatt aus. Angels adorn your bedstead. Möcht schöna nit sein drin an König sei Haus. It could not be prettier in a king’s house.

Hei, hei . . . Hei, hei . . .

Jå Kinderl, du bist hålt im Kripperl Yes, (my) child, you are so beautiful in your so schen, crib, mi ziemt, i kånn nimmer då weg that I feel as if I could not part von dir gehn. from you. I wünsch dir von Herzen die süaßte I wish you with all my heart the sweetest Ruah, of rests, die Engerl vom Himmel, die deckn di zua. (for) the angels from heaven tuck you in.

Hei, hei . . . Hei, hei . . . 35

Hugo Blanco (1940–2015) “El burrito de Belén” (The little donkey from Bethlehem)

Hugo Blanco composed his villancico carol in 1972. The cheerful little song about a boy and his little donkey is extremely popular in Latin America, possibly due its bouncy merengue rhythm. Cuatrico is a diminutive for the cuatro, a type of four-stringed guitar used in Venezuelan folk music. Blanco is best known for his songs, among them “Moliendo Café,” sung by football fans around the world, and “La vecina” (The neighbor), which was used in an episode of Miami Vice.

Con mi burrito sabanero voy camino With my little Savannah donkey, I am on my de Belén way to Bethlehem, si me ven, si me ven, voy camino if they see me, if they see me, I am on my de Belén way to Bethlehem, el lucerito mañanero ilumina mi sendero the little morning light will shine on my path, si me ven, si me ven, voy camino if they see me, if they see me, I am on my de Belén way to Bethlehem, con mi cuatrico voy cantando, with my little cuatro I sing along, mi burrito va trotando my little donkey trots along si me ven, si me ven, voy camino if they see me, if they see me, I am on my de Belén way to Bethlehem

Tuqui tuqui tuqui, tuqui tuquita Tuqui tuqui tuqui, tuqui tuquita apurate mi burrito que ya vamos a llegar hurry, my little donkey, we are about to arrive, Tuqui tuqui tuqui, tuqui tuquitu Tuqui tuqui tuqui, tuqui tuquitu apurate mi burrito que vamos a ver hurry, my little donkey, we are going to see a Jesús Jesus.

Traditional “Adorar al niño” (Worship the child)

Villancicos are folk songs, derived from medieval dances. The genre originated in Spain around the 15th century. Villancicos are bouncy and joyful; they often deal with everyday life and are usually sung in the vernacular. Many were written for church feasts, especially for Christmas.

A adorar al niño, corramos pastores To worship the child, let us hurry, shepherds, que está en el portal, who lies in the manger, llevémos le flores. let us bring him flowers. Una palomita anunció a María A little dove announced to Mary que en su seno santo él that in her saintly body he would become encarnaría. flesh.

Alabo el misterio de la Trinidad, Praise the secret of the Trinity que son tres personas That it is three persons y es un Dios no más. And one God, no more.

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Traditional “Les Anges dans nos campagnes” (Angels from the Realms of Glory)

This French carol was first published by Louis Lambillotte in 1842 and has proved very popular in France and in Quebec. The text is based on the Annunciation to the shepherds in the gospel of Luke (2:8-18). The chorus “Gloria in excelsis” represents the choir of angels; its tune goes back to a 16th-century dance, “Branle de l’officiel,” published in 1588 by Thoinot Arbeau (1519–95), which also inspired the English carol “Ding Dong, Merrily on High.” The carol has been translated into numerous languages. There are two well-known English versions, “Angels from the Realms of Glory” and “Shepherds in the Field Abiding.”

Les anges dans nos campagnes The angels in our fields ont entonné l’hymne des cieux, have sung the heavenly hymn et l’écho de nos montagnes and the echo of our mountains redit ce chant mélodieux: gives back the melodious singing: Gloria in excelsis Deo Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Bergers, pour qui cette fête? Shepherds, for whom is this celebration? Quel est l’objet de tous ces chants? What is the object of all this singing? Quel vainqueur, quelle conquête What victor, what conquest mérite ces cris triomphants? deserves these shouts of triumph? Gloria in excelsis Deo Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Ils annoncent la naissance They announce the birth du libérateur d’Israël of the liberator of Israel et pleins de reconnaissance and full of recognition chantent en ce jour solennel: they sing on this festive day: Gloria in excelsis Deo Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809–47) “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”

In 1739 Charles Wesley wrote a solemn hymn for Christmas Day, for which he requested solemn music. Over the course of time, his words were slightly altered, most notably by George Whitefield, another Anglican cleric. Wesley and Whitefield met at Oxford; they were both members of the “Holy Club” at Christ Church, Oxford, and both involved in founding the Methodist movement. Over a century later, in 1855, English organist William Hayman Cummings (1831–1915) adapted a piece by Felix Mendelssohn to fit the words. The music was written for a cantata to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the invention of movable type printing by Gutenberg; Mendelssohn may have based the tune on a movement of Bach’s Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069.

Lowell Mason (1792–1872) “Joy to the World”

In 1719 the English priest Isaac Watts published his renditions of the Psalms of David, among them “Joy to the World.” The text is based on Psalm 98:4ff: “Rejoice in the Lord, all the world / Acclaim Yahweh, all the Earth, burst into shouts of joy and sing.” It is a 37 cultic hymn asking world and nature to praise God and his miracles. Lowell Mason, an American Presbyterian, set Watts’s words to music in 1839; he borrowed some phrases from Handel’s Messiah. He himself did not claim to be the composer of the tune, in fact, he titled his arrangement in the original publication “from Handel.”

Adolphe Adam (1803–56) “O Holy Night”

“O Holy Night” (Cantique de Noël) is one of the few Christmas carols that were written for this purpose. In December 1847 the curate of a village church in Roquemaure (Côtes du Rhône) asked Placide Cappeau, resident free-thinker (a socialist, no less) and part- time poet, to write a Christmas poem for a fundraiser to finance the church’s stained- glass windows. A singer named Emily Laurey happened to be staying in the village, came across the poem, and presented it to her (Jewish) friend Adolphe Adam, and the famous “Cantique” was born. Neither of the two authors felt particularly Christian; Cappeau kept wanting to change the words to something even more pantheistic, and Adam referred to the piece as a “religious Marseillaise.” For years most of the French clergy loathed it passionately and theologians and musicologists wrote spiteful articles condemning the performance in a church. Some of them appeared in the 1930s, almost a century after “Cantique de Noël” was first performed. The English version of the text was written in the 1850s, by American clergyman John Sullivan Dwight.

Irving Berlin (1888–1989) “White Christmas”

Irving Berlin was born Israel Baline in Russia; his family immigrated to the United States when he was five years old. He left home at 14 and sang his way through bars and restaurants. In 1907 he earned his first song-writing credit and changed his name to Irving Berlin. He wrote some 1,500 songs. He felt compelled to write music, as if his life depended on it. He never learned to read music and only used the black keys on a conventional piano. “White Christmas” was originally written for the movie Holiday Inn starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. The slow, dreamy song struck a chord with American audiences. Written by a Jew in the middle of World War II, it became a symbol for peace. Whenever Crosby sang for the troops, he would be asked to sing “White Christmas,” and by the end of the war, the song had become the biggest-selling single of all time.

Jule Styne (1905–94) “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow”

In 1942 Jule Styne (Julius K. Stein) and Sammy Cahn (Samuel Cohen) formed a very productive partnership, collaborating on numerous songs, musicals, and film scores. They wrote the score for a number of Frank Sinatra films, includingStep Lively (1942), Anchors Aweigh (1945), and It Happened in Brooklyn (1947), as well as films starring Danny Kay, Doris Day, and Marilyn Monroe (The Seven Year Itch, 1955). “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” was written in the 1940s and first sung by Vaughn Monroe.

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Johnny Marks (1909–85) “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”

Rudolph’s roots are found in the poem T’was the Night Before Christmas, attributed to either Henry Livingstone (1743–1828) or Clement Clarke Moore (1779–1863). The poem marks the first appearance of Santa’s team of eight reindeer. Rudolph, a ninth reindeer picked to guide Santa’s sleigh through the fog, started life as an advertising campaign for Montgomery Ward’s department store in Chicago. In 1939 Robert L. May, one of the store’s copywriters, wrote a story for a coloring book that Ward wanted to use as a promotional gift. May created the story of Rudolph, the outsider in the sleighing team, ridiculed for a physical feature that eventually helps him save Christmas. Between 1939 and 1946, Montgomery Ward distributed a total of six million copies of the booklet. In 1947 it was printed commercially. In 1949 May’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, wrote the lyrics and melody for a Rudolph song. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was an instant hit, and the recording by singing cowboy Gene Autry helped Rudolph’s popularity. Over the years, more than 500 artists have recorded the song, and more than 160 million recordings were sold.

Franz Xaver Gruber (1787–1863) “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night)

Joseph Mohr, a village priest in the Austrian Alps, wrote his poem on the birth of Christ in 1816, in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars, after years of hunger in Europe. It is a gentle lullaby for Jesus and at the same time a prayer for peace. Two years later, Mohr was posted to Oberndorf, a small town near Salzburg. There he met school teacher and organist Franz Xaver Gruber, who set the poem to music. The carol was probably used in a Christmas pageant and first performed by the people of Oberndorf on December 24, 1818. It has since been translated into 276 languages.

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht! Silent Night! Holy Night! Alles schläft; einsam wacht Everyone is asleep, a lone vigil is kept nur das traute heilige Paar. by the faithful, holy couple. Holder Knab‘ im lockigten Haar, Holy infant with soft, curly hair, schlafe in himmlischer Ruh! sleep in heavenly peace.

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht! Silent Night! Holy Night! Gottes Sohn! O wie lacht Son of God, oh, how love lieb‘ aus deinem göttlichen Mund, radiates from your divine mouth, da uns schlägt die rettende Stund`. as the time of our salvation has come, Jesus in deiner Geburt! Jesus, by your birth.

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht! Silent Night! Holy Night! Hirten erst kundgemacht The shepherds heard it first. durch der Engel Alleluja, The angels’ shouts of Hallelujah tönt es laut bei Ferne und Nah: resound far and near: Jesus der Retter ist da! Jesus the saviour is here.