Away in a Manger - music

[pne]

According to this article, Away in a Manger is typically sung to one tune in the United states and to a different tune in the UK.

I know both of them; IIRC, one of them was used in the old Primary Songbook, the other in the "adult" hymn book.

Comments

[wingflutter.livejournal.com]

thanks for your card! :D x

[conuly]

I already knew that (I had a thing about Christmas carols for a couple of years bridging intermediate and high school) :)

What's interesting is that in the US, we're often told that this is a traditional German song (yes, really), but I'm told by somewhat more reliable sources than "everyone" that the song is virtually unknown in Germany, except that you know it, so now... *sigh* I just don't know what to believe anymore.

[anicca-anicca.livejournal.com]

Maybe pne is familiar with it because of his anglo background.
I'm German, and I've definitely never heard the first tune. I know the second one, but I'm pretty sure that's because it was part of a concert of English Chrismas carols I did with my choir a couple of years ago.

[conuly]

That does make sense, naturally, but I like everything to be cut and dried. When I take over the world, I shall either force all Germans to learn the carol, or I'll export all the ones who do know it. Whatever.

[anicca-anicca.livejournal.com]

Whichever, but it was about time someone took care of this, too.
I like my Empresses diligent.

[pne.livejournal.com]

No, I'm familiar with it because of my religious background.

The Primary Songbook (with songs for children) used to be identical in English and German when I was a child (i.e. the German one had the same songs, on the same page numbers, as the English one, only translated into German), and the adults' hymnbook had many of the hymns in the English one, too (and some traditional German ones, but they were in the minority).

So much of the songs LDS know is American in origin.

[anicca-anicca.livejournal.com]

Interesting. Must be some difference in North/South German usage. Oh, now I get it. LDS. I see. Latter-day Saints, right? Don't know a whole lot about them, but the name alone suggests that it could be considered anglo background. Sounds like they basically translated English songs for the German book, right? What lyrics is the tune sung to? (Sorry in case the last sentence is horrible English)

[pne.livejournal.com]

LDS. I see. Latter-day Saints, right?

Yep. Or "Heilige der Letzten Tage" in German; the church is "Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage". Most people, if they know us at all, probably know us as "die Mormonen".

Founded 1830 in New York State, and the headquarters have been in Salt Lake City, Utah, since 1847, so it's probably not surprising that some aspects of LDS culture are American since they were "exported" along with the religion.

Sounds like they basically translated English songs for the German book, right?

Yes - for the children's songbook, definitely; for the adults' hymnbook, most (but not all) of the hymns are translated.

They recently (ten years ago or so?) brought out a new German hymnbook, with some familiar hymns missing and some previously-not-in-German hymns included -- and those which stayed the same often have changed lyrics since they re-translated the hymns (or at least edited them). It's slightly annoying if you've been used to the text for years and suddenly they change it. (Even if some of the new words are "better" in the sense that they're closer to the English meaning; some hymns used a slightly freer translation in order to be more singable.)

What lyrics is the tune sung to?

1. Im Stroh in der Krippe, kein Bett war im Raum, da lag's Jesuskindlein, gar rein anzuschaun. Es blickten vom Himmel die Sterne so froh aufs schlafende Kindlein im Heu und im Stroh.

2. Die Rinder, sie blökten, es flackert' das Licht; das Kindlein erwachte, doch weinte es nicht. Schau nieder vom Himmel, denn ich liebe dich, und halt deine Hände als Schutz über mich.

3. Sei ganz nahe bei mir, so nah, wie es geht, für immer und ewig, das ist mein Gebet. Und segne die Kinder mit Kraft für und für, daß sie können leben im Himmel mit dir.

...and now that I've looked, the "US" version (tune name Mueller) is in the old children's songbook, but as an alternative tune (page F-2); the one that was more commonly sung (page F-1), at least where I went to church, was yet another tune, by Charles H. Gabriel according to the book I have. It also features a refrain ("Schlaf wohl, schlaf wohl, schlaf wohl, die Abendschatten falln. Schlaf wohl, schlaf wohl, schlaf wohl, du Herr von alln."). And the "UK" tune (tune name Cradle Song) is the one in the adults' hymnbook (in both the US and Germany)

[anicca-anicca.livejournal.com]

It's slightly annoying if you've been used to the text for years and suddenly they change it.
Old habits die hard, I know. I have a pretty mundane example, but I need to write Lieferscheine for a certain shop a couple of times a week, have had to for fifteen years. After about 10 years, the name of the shop changed, but if I don't pay attention, I catch myself writing the old name. Sometimes they go out with the wrong name. Embarrassing.

Most people, if they know us at all, probably know us as "die Mormonen".

That's funny. Long time ago, I used to pass one of your churches every day on my way to school (Kaiserslautern), and I just looked it up again to make sure it was LDS. Blame it on my ignorance alone, I never realized there was a connection to what you could call Mormons. All we knew then was that the members of the congregation all came from far away, spent the whole Saturday or Sunday in church and everyone was in their Sunday best. I remember being duly impressed but also glad that my Catholic upbringing required "only" one hour per weekend in church (and one during the week) :)
I'm not familiar with any of the lyrics.

Well, thanks for the insight, and have a good Christmas, whichever way you celebrate it. :)

[pne.livejournal.com]

have a good Christmas, whichever way you celebrate it. :)

Thank you; you too!

[pne.livejournal.com]

Blame it on my ignorance alone

No worries; there aren't that many of us, especially in Europe, and I don't expect people to know anything about us, beyond perhaps the fact that we exist.

spent the whole Saturday or Sunday in church

That surprises me.

Though since you say it was a long time ago, perhaps that was before they introduced the consolidated meeting schedule, or whatever it's called. I've only known meetings as one three-hour block on Sunday but I know that previously (before I was born, I think), they used to be split up e.g. some on Sunday morning, some on Sunday evening, some during the week -- and if people came from far away, they'd probably stay there the whole Sunday rather than go to church in the morning, drive all the way back home, then come back again in the evening.

[anicca-anicca.livejournal.com]

Oh, I was just recounting what conclusions I jumped to as a child (1970s, which sometimes feels like 100 years ago). I dont't claim to know the schedule at the LDS church, we just used to drive by. Afaik, people were coming from all over the place, at least I did't know of any locals who were members, so you're probably right, they just stayed. It can't have been two days of service and nothing else, (for all I know, there may even have been different groups on Saturdays and Sundays), they must have had meals etc as well, and the only time we got to see the believers was when they stepped outside for breaks, so... It was just that the center was busy all day long on weekends, it was different from what we knew, and it impressed us a lot because our Catholic schedule was strict (service Saturday night or mass on Sunday mornings), but it wasn't like anyone would have been prepared to sacrifice any more time than that, and the afternoons were reserved for different things. Sports, mainly. :)

[pne.livejournal.com]

My religious background also occasionally leads me astray in my judgement of what constitutes a German Christmas carol -- for example, I've occasionally considered Weit, weit entfernt dort im Morgenland one, but I think that only German Latter-day Saints would know it (it's a translation of Far, far away on Judea's plains), not the general populace.

[anicca-anicca.livejournal.com]

That's right, don't know this one either.

[anicca-anicca.livejournal.com]

But then again, my East German colleagues were taught carols that I'm not familiar with, so I guess it's just a bit more diverse than one tends to think.

[arthur-sc-king.livejournal.com]

And, as is typical in Canada for things British-vs.-American, both versions are equally popular here. The one you listed as UK was probably the one I remember hearing first, but I've heard both in many different settings.

It'd be interesting to know which version is used in Canadian-published hymnals in other churches....

[tungol.livejournal.com]

Canadian here too, and I knew both versions without having any idea that there was a US/UK differentiation between them.

[lnbw.livejournal.com]

Interesting! I've never heard the UK version before.

[lexabear.livejournal.com]

I immediately think of the US version, but I've heard the UK tune before (though I'm not sure where).