The whole bright world rejoices now,
Hilariter, hilariter,
The birds do sing from every bough,
Alleluia, Alleluia.
Then shout beneath the racing skies,
Hilariter, hilariter,
To him who rose that we might rise,
Alleluia, Alleluia.
And all you living things make praise,
Hilariter, hilariter,
He guideth you on all your ways,
Alleluia, Alleluia.
To Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
Hilariter, hilariter,
Our God most high, our joy and boast.
Alleluia, Alleluia.
This is Percy Dearmer's free translation of a German Easter hymn, 'Die ganze Welt, Herr Jesu Christ", which (the Oxford Book of Carols tells me) was first published in 1623. 'Hilariter' means 'joyfully', though the joy in this beautiful hymn is more stately gladness than cheerful romp:
The German words are as follows:
Die ganze Welt, Herr Jesu Christ,
Hilariter, hilariter,
In deiner Urständ fröhlich ist.
Halleluja, Halleluja.
Das himmlisch Heer im Himmel singt,
Hilariter, hilariter,
Die Christenheit auf Erden klingt.
Halleluja, Halleluja.
Jetzt grünet, was nur grünen kann,
Hilariter, hilariter,
Die Bäum zu blühen fangen an.
Halleluja, Halleluja.
Es singen jetzt die Vögel all,
Hilariter, hilariter,
Jetzt singt und klingt die Nachtigall.
Halleluja, Halleluja.
Der Sonnenschein jetzt kommt herein,
Hilariter, hilariter,
Und gibt der Welt ein' neuen Schein.
Halleluja, Halleluja.
Die ganze Welt, Herr Jesu Christ,
Hilariter, hilariter,
In deiner Urständ fröhlich ist.
Halleluja, Halleluja.
4 comments:
If you'll permit me, here's a literal translation of the German text. Not because I think you don't read or understand German, but as an exercise for myself, keeping my grasp of the language at a tolerable level.
There are some clumsy lines owing in part to repetition and pleonasms in the original, such as the frequent use of "now". It is not a complete word-by-word translation, but it illustrates the liberties Dearmer has taken in his reworking.
The entire world, Lord Jesus Christ,
Rejoices at your resurrection.
The heavenly master of Heaven is sung
By the entire Christendom on earth.
Now becomes verdant what only verdant becomes,
The boughs begin to blossom now.
It is singing now the birds all [do],
Now sings and rings the nightingale.
The sunshine now comes in here,
And gives the world a new glow.
The entire world, Lord Jesus Christ,
Rejoices at your resurrection.
Thanks, Steffen - that's useful! My understanding of verse 2 is slightly different (though I could well be wrong!); I read it as:
The celestial host sings in heaven,
The Christian church resounds on earth.
But my German is a little rusty - maybe there are some native speakers around who can weigh in!
Actually, you are right, I misread Heer as Herr; my apologies. (This is why I shouldn't do translations late at night.)
I wondered if that might have been it - easy mistake to make!
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