Once in Royal David's City
| Once in Royal David's City | |
|---|---|
| Artista | |
| Autore/i | Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander (testo) Henry John Gauntlett (melodia) |
| Genere | Carola natalizia |
| Esecuzioni notevoli | Robin Gibb Mantovani Sinead O'Connor Tre Tenori … |
| Data | 1848 (testo)/1849 (melodia) |
| Durata | 3 min : 55 s |
| Note | Testo apparso per la prima volta in: Hymns for Little Children |
Once in Royal David's City è un tradizionale canto natalizio, scritto da Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895; autrice delle parole) e da Henry John Gauntlett (1805-1876; autore della musica).[1][2][3] Il testo apparve per la prima volta nel 1848[1] come poesia negli Hymns for Little Children[1][3], mentre la melodia "Irby" con cui è accompagnato fu composta l'anno seguente[1][2].
Testo
[modifica | modifica wikitesto]Il testo, di carattere religioso, parla degli eventi relativi alla nascita di Gesù[1][4]
- Once in royal David's city
- Stood a lowly cattle shed,
- Where a mother laid her baby
- In a manger for His bed:
- Mary was that mother mild,
- Jesus Christ her little child.
- He came down to earth from heaven,
- Who is God and Lord of all,
- And His shelter was a stable,
- And His cradle was a stall;
- With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
- Lived on earth our Saviour Holy.
- And through all His wondrous childhood
- He would honour and obey,
- Love and watch the lowly Maiden,
- In whose gentle arms He lay:
- Christian children all must be
- Mild, obedient, good as He.
- For He is our childhood's pattern;
- Day by day, like us He grew;
- He was little, weak and helpless,
- Tears and smiles like us He knew;
- And He feeleth for our sadness,
- And He shareth in our gladness.
- And our eyes at last shall see Him,
- Through His own redeeming love;
- For that Child so dear and gentle
- Is our Lord in heaven above,
- And He leads His children on
- To the place where He is gone.
- Not in that poor lowly stable,
- With the oxen standing by,
- We shall see Him; but in heaven,
- Set at God's right hand on high;
- Where like stars His children crowned
- All in white shall wait around.
Versioni discografiche
[modifica | modifica wikitesto]Tra gli interpreti che hanno inciso il brano, figurano, tra gli altri (in ordine alfabetico)[5]:
- The Carol Singers
- Mary Chapin Carpenter
- The Chieftains
- Choir of Worcester College
- Dana Cunningham
- The Countdown Kids
- Mark Ford
- Robin Gibb
- Dan Gibson
- Heidi Grant Murphy
- Claire Holley
- James Earl Jones
- Kensington Theatre Ensemble
- Stan Kenton
- King's College Choir of Cambridge
- Cleo Laine
- Lorie Line
- The Lyric Brass Quintet
- Mantovani
- Phil Manzanera con The Players e Andy Mackay
- Jan Mulder
- Sinéad O'Connor(nella compilation A Murray Christmas, 2012[6])
- Daniel O'Donnell
- Terry Oldfield
- Scarlet Rivera
- Maggie Rose
- Steve Schuch
- Harry Secombe
- The Seekers
- Jonn Serrie
- George Beverly Shea
- Starlite Orchestra
- Sufjan Stevens
- St. Paul's Cathedral Choir
- Liz Story
- Tre Tenori
- Vienna Boys' Choir
- Rick Wakeman
- Danny Wright
Note
[modifica | modifica wikitesto]- ^ a b c d e Once in Royal David's City, in: The Hymns and Carols of Christmas
- ^ a b Once in Royal David's City su AllMusic
- ^ a b Bowler, Gerry, Dizionario universale del Natale [The World Encyclopedia of Christmas], Newton & Compton, Roma, 2003, p. 253
- ^ Bowler, Gerry, op. cit., pp. 384-385
- ^ Top search results for "once in royal david's city" | AllMusic
- ^ A Murray Christmas su Allmusic
Altri progetti
[modifica | modifica wikitesto]
Wikimedia Commons contiene immagini o altri file su Once in Royal David's City
Collegamenti esterni
[modifica | modifica wikitesto]- (EN) Once in Royal David's City, su MusicBrainz, MetaBrainz Foundation.
