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Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Every year I either compose new music for Christmas or create a new arrangement of a familiar carol. This year I have chosen, “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” a hymn which first appeared (without ascription) in print with German text (of two stanzas) and melody in 1599. The tune was harmonized by the German composer, Michael Praetorius, in 1609. There are three preeminent English verse translations, the most used being that written by Theodore Baker in 1894.

My version of the carol is arranged for oboe and harp, followed by the modern German text and Baker’s translation.

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Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
aus einer Wurzel zart,
wie uns die Alten sungen,
von Jesse kam die Art.
Und hat ein Blümlein bracht
mitten im kalten Winter,
wohl zu der halben Nacht

Das Röslein, das ich meine,[a]
davon Isaias sagt,
ist Maria die reine,
die uns das Blümlein bracht.
Aus Gottes ew’gem Rat
hat sie ein Kind geboren
und blieb ein reine Magd. (“and remained a pure maidservant”) (Original version)
or: Welches uns selig macht .(“which greatly blessed us”) (Protestant Version)

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Lo, how a rose e’er blooming,
From tender stem hath sprung.
Of Jesse’s lineage coming,
As men of old have sung;
It came, a flow’ret bright,
Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah ’twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind,
With Mary we behold it,
The virgin mother kind;
To show God’s love aright,
She bore to men a Savior,
When half spent was the night.

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James A. Tweedie is a retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He has written and published six novels, one collection of short stories, and four collections of poetry including Sidekicks, Mostly Sonnets, and Laughing Matters, all with Dunecrest Press. His poems have been published nationally and internationally in both print and online media. He was honored with being chosen as the winner of the 2021 SCP International Poetry Competition.

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5 Responses

  1. Murray Alfredson

    My information on this song is that though it was first published in print in Koeln in 1599, its origin dates back to the 15th century. The variations in the final line of stanza 2 are a bit of a puzzle, though I give credence to the repeated final line of stanza 1: ‘wohl zu der halben nacht.’ (NB, capitalisation of German nouns, so far as I am aware dates from the 18th century, si I do not capitalise nouns of earlier New High German). Many stanzas were tacked on to this folk hymn during the 19th century.

    This poem rests explicitly on the book od Isaiah, the same chapters as form the text of GF Haendel’s Messiah, using the 1611 Authorised Version of the English Bible.

    Stimulated by your setting of thes hymn, Pastor Tweedie, I am inclined to post on the Classical Poets dire a poem, ‘Prince of peace’, I wrote based on this folk hymn, but with my own twist on deutero-Isaiah’s ‘prophecy’ as generally interpreted in Christian tradition. The opening of my poem reads like a pruned down version of the original, before I depart in a very different direction.

    Thank you posting your setting of a favourite and very beautiful folk hymn.

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Murray, your notes fill in a goodly amount of information about this carol—much, but not all of which I omitted for simplicity’s sake. The twist in the final line is that there is (as I note) a Roman Catholic version that follows the original German with its emphasis on Mary and a rewritten Protestant ending that modifies it.

      Baker’s translation of the second (and final) verse avoids the ending issue by ignoring it altogether while simply repeating his ending of the first verse. As you note, I assumed the song did not appear out of thin air, but most certainly represented an earlier, pre-Reformation origin.

      As for Isaiah, I might mention that I used this hymn and the Isaiah text as the basis for my sermon on the first Sunday of Advent earlier this month. This carol text offers much to exegete.

      As for your poetic version of the text I hope you will submit it posthaste so Evan can post it asap!

      Reply
  2. Roy Eugene Peterson

    I like your translation. I did not realize you were a German linguist. Ich wünsche Ihnen frohe Weihnachten.

    Reply
  3. James A. Tweedie

    Lol this is Theodore Baker’s translation and I claim neither credit nor blame for it!

    While I am not at Al fluent in German I have previously posted translations of Goethe and Luther along with musical settings or arrangements to accompany them.

    Reply
  4. Jeff Eardley

    James, beautifully crafted and a delight on the ear. The oboe/harp works perfectly and is all that is required. Thank you for this musical treat. Ein wunderbares musikalisches Unterfangen.

    Reply

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