A Christian husband, homeschooling father, software engineer and amateur musician bloviates about whatever he feels like at the moment.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
O Magnum Mysterium
I know I've linked to this before, but seeing as it's Christmas time, and that it's my blog, I'm going to link to it again. So there.
I'm not sure that "Carol" describes this piece, but it is a Christmas song. The words (in Latin) are:
O magnum mysterium,
et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
jacentem in praesepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum.
Alleluia.
Translated into English, this becomes:
O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord,
lying in a manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear
Christ the Lord.
Alleluia!
The particular setting is by Tomás Luis de Victoria, a Spanish composer who lived in 16th and early 17th centuries. My brother Rick and I actually did this in our high school choir many moons ago, and I've loved it ever since. Sometimes, when I hear music like this, it makes me wonder whether I was born in the wrong century (indoor plumbing notwithstanding). If this were a more rational world, most music would sound this way. ;-)
Christian husband, father, software engineer, instigator of never-ending landscaping projects, amateur music director, amateur harp player, amateur composer of vocal and other music, who gets his intellectual fingers into way too many pies, and mixes too many metaphors to boot. Be forewarned: I'm pretty wordy.
Pillowfight Fairy My firstborn daughter, born October 2002, so eight years old. Once upon a time, while I was trying to do something at the computer, she came up to me with a pillow and a mischievous twinkle in her eye, and loudly announced, "I am the Pillowfight Fairy!" I'll leave it to your imagination to figure out what happened next.
Adrenaline Junky My second child, one very spunky little girl. She was born December 2004, so she's five years old. She reached her "climbing stage" very young, and never left it.
Happy Boy My third child. Born February 2007. So named because he was just about the happiest baby I've ever met, at the time. He was smiling at complete strangers before he was one month old. Now that he's mobile, he's only happy if you let him go wherever he wants; so his title is not as descriptively accurate now as it once was. I've occasionally referred to him as "The Omnivore", given his culinary appreciation of stuff we don't normally think of as food; but even that name isn't completely accurate, given that he doesn't actually eat vegetables.
The Chunk Latest addition to our family, born October 2010. As of this writing not much was known of his personality, except for the fact that he was quite wiggly inside mommy (and strong!). Named The Chunk due to the fact that he was 9lbs 10oz at birth (and strong!).
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