(no subject)

[tree_and_leaf]

The Door for O Sapientia (remember the O antiphons, on which "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" are based?)

A ship is coming laden,
And rich indeed her hoard;
The Son of God the Father
And his eternal Word.

The ships sails soft, her burden
Of price all measure past:
Her mainsail, it is charity,
The Holy Ghost the mast.

The ship has dropped her anchor,
Is safely come to land;
Th' eternal Word in likeness
Of man on earth doth stand.

In Bethlehem of Judah
A child to us is born;
Sing praises ever unto him
Who saves a world forlorn.

Whoever would embrace him
With joy and holy kiss
Must share with him the Passion
Through which he comes to bliss.

Be with him in his dying,
His resurrection know,
Eternal life inherit
That he comes to bestow.

Es kommt ein Schiff geladen (possibly) by Johannes Tauler (c.1300-1361) translated by Alan Luff (born 1928) and Enid Luff (born 1935)

And here’s the original text, lightly modernised:
1. Es kommt ein Schiff, geladen
bis an sein’ höchsten Bord,
trägt Gottes Sohn voll Gnaden,
des Vaters ewigs Wort.

2. Das Schiff geht still im Triebe,
es trägt ein teure Last;
das Segel ist die Liebe,
der Heilig Geist der Mast.

3. Der Anker haft’ auf Erden,
da ist das Schiff am Land.
Gott's Wort tut uns Fleisch werden,
der Sohn ist uns gesandt.

4. Zu Bethlehem geboren
im Stall ein Kindelein,
gibt sich für uns verloren;
gelobet muss es sein.

5. Und wer dies Kind mit Freuden
umfangen, küssen will,
muss vorher mit ihm leiden
groß Pein und Marter viel,

6. danach mit ihm auch sterben
und geistlich auferstehn,
Ewigs Leben zu erben,
wie an ihm ist geschehn.

There’s another, and rather corrupt version here, in what looks like 15th C Alsatian.

Comments

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

15th C Alsatian

Well I knew German Shepherds lived to a ripe old age, but I didn't realise they could get that old ... ;-)

(Or is it an Alsace wine we are talking about?)

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

woof!

(Siberian dog, not that old)

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

I'm immediately reminded of 'I Saw Three Ships...' Do you think there is any relation?

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Do you know the Far Side cartoon, of a man attempting to strike up conversation with a duck?

"Do you speak English?"
[silence]

"Habla si Espanol?"
[silence]

"Parlez-vous Francais?"
[silence]

"Quack?"
"Quack!"

"Quack quack quack quack"
"Quack quack quack"

[grondfic.livejournal.com]

This goes moderately well to the tune of The Church's One Foundation (if you squash-up each pair of verses, so to speak).

[tree_and_leaf]

The dialect of German, but you knew that....

[tree_and_leaf]

There may be, albeit distantly; I think the usual theory is that "Es kommt ein Schiff" is a filk of a secular song (a very popular hymnwriting strategy in those halcyon days before copyright!)

The origins of "I saw three ships" are completely foggy, but the most popular theory is that they're distantly related to songs about the relics of the Three Kings arriving in Cologne. Tauler spent quite a lot of time in Cologne and elsewhere on the Rhine, so it's not impossible. But it's all very foggy.

[tree_and_leaf]

*sings* (or rather *croaks*)

You're right, it does (and I think it's rather better than the original tune). There are some cracking German hymns, but they all tend to have totally miserable tunes, or tunes which become miserable when played in the German chorale style.

Of course, it's possible that I am just hopelessly Victorian, as far as church music is concerned...

[caulkhead.livejournal.com]

And the more miserable the tune, the longer the hymn seems to go on. Some of them have about 15 verses.

It always seemed odd to me that German congregational church music is so miserable when Bach and Praetorius, among others, are fantastic to sing as a choir.