Today, listen to the medieval Christmas hymn “Personent hodie” sung by John Rutter’s Cambridge Singers.
Personent hodie,
Voces puerulae,
Laudantes iucunde,
Qui nobis est natus,
Summo Deo datus,
Et de vir vir vir,
Et de vir vir,
Et de virgineo,
Ventre procreatus.
In mundo nascitur,
Pannis involvitur,
Praesepi ponitur,
Stabulo brutorum,
Rector supernorum,
Perdidit dit dit,
Perdidit dit,
Perdidit spolia,
Princeps Infernorum.
Magi tres venerunt;
Munera offerunt;
Parvulum inquirunt,
Stellulam sequendo,
Ipsum adorando,
Aurum, thus thus thus,
Aurum, thus thus,
Aurum, thus et myrrham,
Ei offerendo.
Omnes clericuli,
Pariter pueri,
Cantent ut Angeli:
“Advenisti mundo,
Laudes tibi fundo,
Ideo o o,
Ideo o,
Ideo: Gloria,
In excelsis Deo.”
On this day earth shall ring
with the song children sing
to the Lord, Christ our King,
born on earth to save us;
him the Father gave us.
His the doom, ours the mirth;
when he came down to earth,
Bethlehem saw his birth;
ox and ass beside him
from the cold would hide him.
God’s bright star, o’er his head,
Wise Men three to him led;
kneel they low by his bed,
lay their gifts before him,
praise him and adore him.
On this day angels sing;
with their song earth shall ring,
praising Christ, heaven’s King,
born on earth to save us;
peace and love he gave us.
Christian Leithart 