Candlelight carol(曲、詞:John Rutter) 作家背景:約翰‧盧特(John Rutter,1945 年 9 月 24 日-),是 一位英國作曲家及合唱指揮,擅長處理大型聖樂合唱作品,曾編寫 多首聖樂作品,包括《燭光頌》(Candlelight Carol) 、《榮耀頌》 (Gloria)、《大地好風光》(For the Beauty of the Earth)、《一 切美麗光明物》(All Things Bright and Beautiful)等;盧特於劍橋 Clare College 進修音樂,並於 1975 至 1979 年期間於該學院任 職管風琴學者及音樂主任。他於 1981 年成立劍橋合唱團(Cambridge Singers),於其中擔任指揮,並以他旗下的 Collegium Records 名 義製作多首聖樂作品錄音。盧特現居英國劍橋,並經常與各地不同 合唱團及交響樂團合作;盧特的創作多屬合唱類型,其中包括有讚 美詩、聖誕歌及教會禮儀用詩歌。盧特亦擅長編曲,以懷古的手法融入音樂中,他的聖樂作品令人感到平靜、莊嚴,卻又不會流於陳舊、過時;他亦曾改編多首美國黑人靈歌,以不同的元素融入作品 中,不斷擴展聖樂合唱的領域,令他成為二十世紀眾多音樂家中, 在聖樂合唱方面最受重視的一位。 歌詞:How do you capture the wind on the water? How do you count all the stars in the sky? How can you measure the love of a mother, or how can you write down a baby's first cry? (*) Shepherds and wisemen will kneel and adore him, Seraphim round him their vigil will keep; Nations proclaim him their Lord and their Savior, but Mary will hold him and sing him to sleep. (*)Find him at Bethlehem laid in a manger: Christ our Redeemer asleep in the hay. Godhead incarnate and hope of salvation: A child with his mother that first Christmas Day. (*) (*)Candlelight, angel light, firelight and starglow shine on his cradle till breaking of dawn. Gloria, Gloria in excelsis deo! Angels are singing; the Christ Child is born. Torches 簡介: 此聖誕樂曲於 1951 年由英國著名作曲家 John Joubert 所創作,旋 律和歌詞的內容,就像軍旅一樣,帶著火炬,邁步走向伯利恆,參 見基督的誕生,並熱切期盼在主面前歡樂地放聲高歌,讚美這位天 上君王;藉得留意的是,此曲首、尾的輕快軍旅節奏,與中段 “Ro-ro”的柔和搖籃曲部份,是作者刻意運用剛柔的對比,令此 曲更富生命力,使人一聽難忘。 歌詞: Torches, torches, run with torches! All the way to Bethlehem! Christ is born and now lies sleeping: Come and sing your song to him! Ah! Ro-ro, my baby, my love! Sleep you well, my heart’s own-darling, while we sing you our ro-ro. Sing, my friends, and make you merry, joy and mirth and joy again. Lo! He lives, the King of Heaven! Now and evermore. Amen! I saw three ships 簡介: 此聖誕樂曲,普遍相信是英國維多利亞時代的作品,作者雖不詳, 但經現在聖樂大師 John Rutter 重新編撰之後,深受世界各地的教 會歡迎;其吸引之處,在於旋律使人有充滿喜樂的迎接感覺,歌詞 也活潑地重複和唱著,容易使人印象深刻之外,更是其中一首孩子 們最喜愛的兒童聖誕歌。 歌詞: I saw three ships come sailing in, On Christmas Day in the morning. Pray, wither sailed those ships all three, On Christmas Day in the morning? O they sailed into Bethlehem, On Christmas Day in the morning. And who should be in those three ships, But Joseph and his Lady? And he did whistle and she did sing, On Christmas Day in the morning. And all the bells on earth shall ring, On Christmas Day in the morning. Then let us all rejoice a-main, On Christmas Day in the morning. 聖餐獻唱 Coventry carol 在傳統上,Coventry carol 被認為是 16 世紀在英格蘭 Coventry 地 方所演出的一個名叫《The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors》 的「神秘劇」中的英語聖誕頌歌部份,此劇內容是根據馬太福音內記 述的聖誕故事所創作的,據說此劇完成於 1456 年,內容集中描述一 個從報喜到無辜者的大屠殺事件。須特別一提的,是「神秘劇」的體 裁,被公認是對莎士比亞的創作有著相當大啟發性的。而這首頌歌本 身,雖然歌詞和旋律的作者和寫作日期均不詳,但經由 Martin Shaw 重新編撰這個現代版本之後,於演繹方面則更見層次,指揮根據歌 詞,讓詩班由開始時的輕聲搖籃曲演繹對嬰孩的呵護,繼而轉到女聲 的柔聲表達女性溫柔的一面,再發展至較剛烈的男聲描述希律王的殘 酷,到最後又回到嬰兒的搖籃曲,情感上彷彿讓聖誕故事的感覺重現 會眾之前。 歌詞: (*)Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child, by by, lully, lullay. O sisters too, how may we do, for to preserve this day. This poor youngling for whom we do sing,by by, 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, by by, lully, lullay.(*) |