Once in Royal David's City

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Once in Royal David's City
Artista
Autore/iCecil Frances Humphreys Alexander (testo)
Henry John Gauntlett (melodia)
GenereCarola natalizia
Esecuzioni notevoliRobin Gibb
Mantovani
Sinead O'Connor
Tre Tenori
Data1848 (testo)/1849 (melodia)
Durata3 min : 55 s
NoteTesto apparso per la prima volta in: Hymns for Little Children
Henry John Gauntlett (info file)
start=
Once in Royal David's City — versione per Organo liturgico

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 Savior Holy.
And through all His wondrous childhood
He would honor 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]:

Note[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

  1. ^ a b c d e Once in Royal David's City, in: The Hymns and Carols of Christmas
  2. ^ a b Once in Royal David's City su AllMusic
  3. ^ a b Bowler, Gerry, Dizionario universale del Natale [The World Encyclopedia of Christmas], Newton & Compton, Roma, 2003, p. 253
  4. ^ Bowler, Gerry, op. cit., pp. 384-385
  5. ^ Top search results for "once in royal david's city" | AllMusic
  6. ^ A Murray Christmas su Allmusic

Altri progetti[modifica | modifica wikitesto]

Collegamenti esterni[modifica | modifica wikitesto]