Noël Bourguignon (movement 1 from “Carol Trilogy”)

Program Notes:

Canadian composer Laura Hawley’s setting of this carol preserves the original old French text, which has a unique and rustic sound to it, very different from modern French. Her arrangement captures the mystery of the manger scene with the animals nearby, the brightness of the Christmas star, the fluttering of angel wings, and a spectrum of emotions associated with Christmas night.

Conductor Notes:

SSAA (div) with piano; includes a semichorus SSA

This is the first movement of Carol Trilogy written by Laura Hawley and commissioned by Elektra Women’s Choir in 2017 as part of Elektra’s Celebrating Women Composers project.

By far the most challenging arrangement of the Carol Trilogy, this setting requires an advanced ensemble capable of creating and balancing the atmospheric texture which surrounds the tune. The movement has an almost orchestral texture, through which the melody must be present. I approached this piece’s three principal challenges in this way:

1) Keeping pitch in the melody – It’s the old “descending line” problem. On a neutral syllable, I had everyone in the choir sing the melody (EG: measure 16) with a more present and active tone and a bit faster than I was planning for performance. By having everyone learn this, the singers who eventually created the cloudy texture around the tune better understood what they were acccompanying and how to follow it while singing their own part.

2) At the opening, there is a lot for the non-melody singers to keep track of. I had them first sing their lines on “ta-“, with a new “t” each time their pitch changed (up to m34). Again, with more tone than they might eventually use in performance. If, at m11, switching back and forth between the two pitches given to each voice is too difficult for the singers, you could assign each of them to one of the two notes. They will still be creating a randomized texture by each starting the syllable at their own time.

3) French pronunciation. This is not modern French, and the pronunciation is subjective, but we asked a singer language coach to make the recording linked here for us. Then we adhered to it slavishly, which avoided wasted time with questions in rehearsal (especially in Canada, where we all think we speak French!)

Composer / Arranger Notes:

This French carol, with words and music originally by Bernard de La Monnoye, describes the reverence of the animals kneeling at the manger on Christmas eve. This setting preserves the original old French text, which has a unique and rustic sound to it very different from modern French. The shimmering chord clusters that open this movement express the miraculous manger scene with the animals nearby on bended knee worshiping a tiny baby and keeping the child warm. Around this scene the music also references the brightness of the Christmas star, the fluttering of angel wings, and a spectrum of emotions associated with Christmas night; the quiet awe of the manger, the exultation of angels, the reverence of the animals in the stable, the great change that had arrived on earth and the divine and ineffable love that came with it.

A spoken pronunciation guide.

Noel Bourguignon Translation and Phonetics – a written guide

1701, French

1. Lor qu’an lai saizon qu’ai jaule,
   Au monde Jésu-Chri vin,
   L’àne et le beu l’échaufin
   De lo sôfle dan l’Etaule…
   Que d’àne et de beu je sai,
   Dan ce royaume de Gaule,
   Que d’àne et de beu je sai
   Qui n’an airein pa tan fai!
2. On di que cé pôvre bête
   N’ure pas vu le Pôpon,
   Qu’elle se mire ai genon,
   Humbleman boissan lai téte…
   Que d’àne et de beu je sai,
   Qui po tô se fon de féte,
   Que d’àne et de beu je sai
   Qui n’an airein pa tan fai!
3. Ma le pu beà de l’histoire,
   Ce fu que l’àne et le beu
   Ansin passire tô deu
   Lai neù san maingé ni boire…
   Que d’àne et de beu je sai,
   Couvar de pane et de moire,
   Que d’àne et de beu je sai
   Qui n’an airein pa tan fai!

text by Bernard de La Monnoye

Burgundian Carol (English translation)
1701, French

1. The winter season of the year
   When to this world our Lord was born,
   The ox and donkey, so they say,
   Did keep His holy presence warm.
   How many oxen and donkeys now,
   If they were there when first He came,
   How many oxen and donkeys you know,
   At such a time would do the same?
2. As soon as to these humble beasts
   Appeared our Lord so mild and sweet,
   With joy they knelt before His Grace,
   And gently kissed His tiny feet.
   If we, like oxen and donkeys then,
   In spite of all the things we’ve heard,
   Would be like oxen and donkeys then,
   We’d hear the truth, believe His word.
3. And on that night it has been told
   These humble beasts so rough and rude,
   Throughout the night of holy birth,
   Drank no water, ate no food.
   How many oxen and donkeys now,
   Dressed in ermine, silk and such,
   How many oxen and donkeys you know,
   At such a time would do as much?

English lyrics by Oscar Brand
Source: Reader’s Digest Christmas Songbook