Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring

Celtic Woman's Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring

If you are an ordinary music listener, this may sound familiar to you because you hear them frequently in weddings. However, if you are a classical music enthusiast, you  know that this is a modified version of  Johann Sebastian Bach's work. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring is the English title of the 10th movement of the cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 (catalogue number of his work) by the great German musician.

Bach's Jesu Joy

Bach's version is a faster tempo compared to what is more popularly listened to now. I can surmise that this work was inspired by its Baroque era where arts should communicate religious themes as a way of impressing visitors. The Roman Catholic Church during that period strongly endorsed this as a way of maintaining control and power over the popularity of the Protestant Reformation. The original intent of the musical arrangement is not for weddings but the feel of the song is just so "churchy"  and triumphant that might have led to its popular use:

Jesu, joy of man's desiring,

Holy wisdom, love most bright;
Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring
Soar to uncreated light.
Word of God, our flesh that fashioned,
With the fire of life impassioned,
Striving still to truth unknown,
Soaring, dying round Thy throne.
Through the way where hope is guiding,
Hark, what peaceful music rings;
Where the flock, in Thee confiding,
Drink of joy from deathless springs.
Theirs is beauty's fairest pleasure;
Theirs is wisdom's holiest treasure.
Thou dost ever lead Thine own

The original German verses were written by Martin Jahn. The lyrics express a close, friendly, and familiar friendship with Jesus, who gives life to the poet:

    Wohl mir, daß ich Jesum habe,
    o wie feste halt' ich ihn,
    daß er mir mein Herze labe,
    wenn ich krank und traurig bin.
    Jesum hab' ich, der mich liebet
    und sich mir zu eigen giebet,
    ach drum laß' ich Jesum nicht,
    wenn mir gleich mein Herze bricht.
    —from BWV 147, Chorale movement no. 6

    Jesus bleibet meine Freude,
    meines Herzens Trost und Saft,
    Jesus wehret allem Leide,
    er ist meines Lebens Kraft,
    meiner Augen Lust und Sonne,
    meiner Seele Schatz und Wonne;
    darum laß' ich Jesum nicht
    aus dem Herzen und Gesicht.
    —from BWV 147, Chorale movement no. 10

The original German text does not correspond to the most common English version. A close-to-literal translation of the original German:

    Well for me that I have Jesus,
    O how strong I hold to him
    that he might refresh my heart,
    when sick and sad am I.
    Jesus have I, who loves me
    and gives to me his own,
    ah, therefore I will not leave Jesus,
    when I feel my heart is breaking.
    —from BWV 147, Chorale movement no 6

    Jesus remains my joy,
    my heart's comfort and essence,
    Jesus resists all suffering,
    He is my life's strength,
    my eye's desire and sun,
    my soul's love and joy;
    so will I not leave Jesus
    out of heart and face.
    —from BWV 147, Chorale movement no. 10

A good dose of classical art.

Sigma

Sigma is a song composed by Rolf Lovland of Secret Garden, with lyrics from David Agnew, father of Celtic Woman, Chloe. We know that Sigma is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, but there is really nothing Greek with this song. In his website , Lovland stated, "Sigma was  originally a piano piece I wrote in a melancholic night during a  production I worked on in Bergen. The title, taken from the actual name of the studio, has stayed with us ever since. Not knowing how to include  Sigma in the Secret Garden project, violinist, Fionnuala, (the other member of the Secret Garden duo), suggested adding a song countermelody, almost Gregorian in style. Oboist David Agnew wrote the Irish lyrics. With the lovely voice of the eleven year old Rhonan Sugrue and  the Irish National Chamber Choir, the recording of Sigma occurred with a very strong spiritual mood which featured boy soprano Rhonan Sugrue on vocals, the Irish National Chamber Choir, and Davy Spillane."

There you go again with studio names. Remember that Enya and company had the same idea when they thought of the hit Orinoco flow? Artists make simple matters extraordinary. It is like them seeing a pyramid out of a hill.

Irish translation:

Bim ar thoir an comhartha

Scaoileas m'anam saor

Caithfidh mo chroí a bheith glan

Roimh siochán theacht chúm

Ní leanfaidh mo Bhrón

Is béim sásta le mo ghrá

Guim comhartha chabhreoidh liom

Mé a chomhlíonadh

Bim ar thoir an comhartha

Scaoileas m'anam saor

Caithfidh mo chroí a bheith glan

Roimh siochán theacht chúm

Sí an ghaoth do ghuth

Sí an bháisteach do dheora

Grian, do chroi ar las

Do spiorad mo shlánú

English translation:

I search for the sign

That sets my soul free

My heart must be pure

So that I can find peace

The wind is your voice

The rain is your tears

You burning heart

And spirit set me free

Set me free

Filipino language (Tagalog dialect):

Ako ay naghanap ng pangitain,

Na makapagliligtas ng aking kaluluwa.

Ang puso ko nawa'y wagas at dalisay,

Upang sa gayon kapayapaa'y makakamit.

Hangin sa iyong tinig,

Ang ulan ay ang iyong luha.

Ang iyong umaapoy na damdamin,

At ang iyong diwa,

Ay aking kaligtasan.

The Filipino translation was mine. I am working on two other dialects. Meanwhile, let's hear two versions of Sigma. I wish I heard them when I was younger. How can you not like this sound?

Chloe Agnew of Celtic Woman

Sigma by Secret Garden

Send Me A Song

To all the people I had known...

and

To all the places I had been...

for thirty nine summers...

Four weeks after Lisa Kelly gave birth, she is sending you MY song

Take the wave now and know that you're free,

Turn your back on the land face the sea,

Face the wind now so wild and so strong,

When you think of me,

Wave to me and send me a song.

Don't look back when you reach the new shore,

Don't forget what you're leaving me for,

Don't forget when you're missing me so,

Love must never hold,

Never hold tight but let go.

Oh the nights will be long,

When I'm not in your arms,

But I'll be in your song, That you sing to me, across the sea.

Somehow, someday, you will be far away,

So far from me and maybe one day,

I will follow you,

And all you do,

'Til then, send me a song.

When the sun sets the water on fire,

When the wind swells the sails of your hire,

Let the call of the bird on the wind,

Calm your sadness and loneliness,

And then start to sing to me,

I will sing to you,

If you promise to send me a song.

I walk by the shore and I hear,

Hear your song come so faint,

And so clear,

And I catch it, a breath on the wind,

And I smile and I sing you a song,

I will send you a song...

I will sing you a song,

I will sing to you...

If you promise to send me a song.

I am now 44, but I can't tell you more than enough...

How I dearly hold you close to my heart.

Now We Are Free

Now We Are Free,  is the soundtrack music  played at the end of the box-office success and critically acclaimed epic movie, Gladiator. Hanz Simmer did the musical arrangements while Lisa Gerrard did the lyrics. It is very interesting to note that since its release in 2000 to this date, there are endless debates online on what the song really means. Perhaps equal amount of stir that Simmer produced because of alleged plagiarism on his musical scoring. Carefully examining and listening to the lyrics, you might think it would be Hebrew because of the words Shalom and Shaddai. After a while you get confused because of the word flavum which is Latin. As you move on, some of the words sound Gaelic in the same mode as Enya's works, which would make you conclude this is definitely another piece of Ireland flavor:

Anol shalom

Anol sheh lay konnud de ne um (shaddai)

Flavum

Nom de leesh

Ham de nam um das

La um de

Flavne...

We de ze zu bu

We de sooo a ru

Un va-a pesh a lay

Un vi-i bee

Un da la pech ni sa

(Aaahh)

Un di-i lay na day

Un ma la pech a nay

Mee di nu ku

[x4]

La la da pa da le na da na

Ve va da pa da le na la dumda

Anol shalom

Anol sheh ley kon-nud de ne um.

Flavum.

Flavum.

M-ai shondol-lee

Flavu... {Live on...}

Lof flesh lay

Nof ne

Nom de lis

Ham de num um dass

La um de

Flavne..

Flay

Shom de nomm

Ma-lun des

Dwondi.

Dwwoondi

Alas sharum du koos

Shaley koot-tum.

Although I find the lyrics strange way back in 2000, I didn't really care. I remember watching Gladiator a couple of times on then VCD but I was more impressed with the production designs and the idea of how much it had cost the producers to do the film, not really paying attention with the scores. I could not even remember the entire story until TNT kept showing it lately. I was more of a Braveheart  officionado. I can recall post-Gladiator's biggest effect on me was that I named my youngest son Russell (his complete name is Gabriel Russell Lorenzo), after Russell Crowe. Then, my elder twin Meiguell was just two and pronounced R as W. The name stuck and until now we call him Watel, just as unique as Gerrard's words?

My sense of music has changed over the last fours years. I used to enjoy pop music, mostly ballads. But I think as one grows older or to bluntly put it, "as one journeys to middle age", we become more aware of our inner self. Such journey is best appreciated and travelled with  contemplative type of music because of the sense of liberation, creativity, and possibility it brings.

Because of the amount of interests by both followers and critics of this song, I painstakingly surfed the internet for translations I was awed with how much technology provided an avenue for interaction.  The threaded discussions seemed cerebral at one point and then at another, just shallow bickerings. I was enlightened and entertained at the same time. The argument mostly centered on what language was used. Some thought it to be  Aramaic or Hebrew and Latin, the same as my observation. But then someone said it is definitely a derivative of Gaelic or Celtic, since Lisa speaks Breton, not far fetched because she was born of Irish parents, who migrated to Australia. Just when I was almost sold to this idea, someone said it is definitely Armenian and Greek! Along the threaded exchange of ideas, I found two translations, but even then, the authors admitted theirs were not exact, somehow literal to a certain point:

Almighty Freedom

Almighty freer of the soul

Be free

Walk with me

Through the golden fields

So lovely

Lovely

We regret our sins, but...

We sew our own fate and

Under my face I remain feeble

Under my face, I smile

Aaahh)

Even alone/afraid

Under my face I will be waiting

Run with me now soldier of Rome

Run and play in the field with the ponies

Run with me now soldier of Rome

Run and play in the field with the ponies

Run with me now soldier of Rome

Run and play in the field with the ponies

Run with me now soldier of Rome

Run and play in the field with the ponies

Almighty Freedom

Almighty freeer of the soul

Be free

Be free

And imagine

Free with peace at last

It's lovely

It's lovely, this land

No one can believe or understand

How far I came just for my lovely family

I should have been there

with them when the world crashed down

But now they rest with me.

I'll never forget

How I felt that moment

I became free.

The other one goes:

Healing to me

And freely to you from Sol Omnipotens

Yellow

Wings of Joy

Warmth of Day,

Sun of Dawn

O Sun of Yellow,

The Son of Righteousness,

Son of Morning Light,

Shine high and below!

Shine Aeonion!

Shine now, O Great I AM!

(Aaahh)

Shine now, O He Who Was!

Shine now, O Great to Come!

Now we are Free!

(Fast tempo, 4 times)

One the One now whom he was to be!

And the One by whom we now do all see

Healing to me;

Healing to you now freely from Sol:

Yellow

Yellow

For all the world too

Yellow

Live on

Rays below,

Come now,

Wings of Joy

Warmth of Day, Sun of Dawn;

The Sun of

Yellow,

Yellow,

Flame by Day

From Our Lord

Jesus,

Jesus,

True Sun of Liberty

Healing you free.

Different translations but the theme is pointing toward the same direction: freedom. I am inclined to go for the first one though since the movie's setting was  the period of the Roman Empire.

Still intrigued, I scoured every single item there is until I came across a post by Nate Jackson which was verified  by some other bloggers about an interview by Hans Simmer and Lisa Gerrard on what the song really meant and what was the language used. In the interview, Simmer stated, "They mean nothing. He went on, "you better be recording when Lisa starts to sing because whatever she starts singing cannot be duplicated." On her part, Gerrard said, "I sing in the language of the heart. It is invented language that I've had for a long time. I believe I started singing it when I was about 12. I believe that I was speaking to God when I sang in that language. Now I am filled with the Holy Ghost, that is the promise in the Bible the Church will not talk about, because this secret would mean the fall of religion." This interview also was supported by another review which was very critical of Simmer's works.

Inspite of Lisa's admissions, still a quite few believes that  in her works, Gerrard engages in glosalalia or speaking in tongues and melisma, which is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession unlike syllabic,where each syllable of text is matched to a single note. Wikipedia notes Ding Dong Merrily on High, Unto Us a Child is Born, Gloria  (in French) and Stevie Wonder and Mariah Carey's music as having melismatic features. It also termed Gerrard's language as idioglossia.

What is factual in all of these is Gerrard being an elite artist. If she were a painter, she would have been a Picasso,a Leonardo da Vinci, or a Michaelangelo. If she were a musician, she could definitely be a Mozart, a Bach, or a Beethoven. If a filmaker, a Spielberg, a Jackson, or a Scorsese. Most singers will wait for a good material from composers and writers. She does her own thing. And exceptions are a true mark of a genuine artist. Her soul is deeply imbedded in her works, which are not your regular popular music. You cannot just read between the lines, you have to dig deeper. As I can see, she does not restrict herself in her works. It seemed like she is  drawn to some form of "darkness" which I believe enables her to understand the "light"better. Even her voice is steeply dark, as if  it were emanating from the bowels of the earth, and will make your hair stand on ends. Every word she utters penetrates deeply into the soul. She provokes thoughts and emotions.

The next time I chance upon a Now-We-Are-Free-like song, and there is no translation available, I will just close my eyes and feel the music. I will not go through all these troubles again. No translation is suffice  when  emotions are universal. I will let my heart listen to my soul.

http://lyricstranslate.com

Lisa Gerrard, singing like one of the fallen angels

Lisa Kelly of Celtic Woman, singing like one of the seraphim

http://lyricstranslate.com

Vincent, Starry, Starry Night

                                                                     Starry Night Painting by Vincent Van Gogh

 Vincent is a song written by Don Mclean   about Vincent Van Gogh. How Mclean came up with this song is a testimony that only a real artist can understand one of his kind. This is just prolific understanding and feeling of what lies beneath. McLean told The Daily Telegraph the story of this song. He was reading a biography, and suddenly he knew he had to write a song arguing that  Van Gogh wasn't crazy. He had an illness and so did his brother Theo. In  Mclean's my mind this makes it different to what was commonly thought that he got "crazy" because he was rejected by a woman. Not wanting to waste the moment, he wrote the lyrics out on a paper bag. McLean himself during that time was going through a dark period. He further stated in the interview, "I was in a bad marriage that was torturing me." Art is a form of expression, a therapeutic diversion. In this case, Don found a sublime outlet. The song became a hit and it would remain as one of his two best works, the other being American Pie.

 Van Gogh's paintings

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul...
Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colors on the snowy linen land.

Now I understand
What you tried to say, to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free:
They would not listen; they did not know how --
Perhaps they'll listen now.

Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

Now I understand
What you tried to say, to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free:
They would not listen; they did not know how--
Perhaps they'll listen now.

For they could not love you
But still, your love was true
And when no hope was left inside
On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do--
But I could've told you, Vincent:
This world was never meant
For one as beautiful as you.

Starry, Starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget
Like the strangers that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn, a bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.

Now I think I know
What you tried to say, to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free:
They would not listen; they're not listening still--
Perhaps they never will.

Vincent and Starry Night are creative minds at their best for both Mclean and Van Gogh. Music and lyrics for the former, and strokes and color for the latter. Too bad for Van  Gogh for in his lifetime, there were no internet or media extravagance. If there were, Van Gogh might have lived a little longer. His works might have been known to many not just a few. Back then, the Impressionists control the pace. His illness might have been a little more subdued if he only knew that his contributions would eventually  give birth to Expressionism. Truly, a person's significance is much appreciated and glorified when he had vanished from the living.

It is a tragedy how a gifted man with good intentions will end his life at a very productive age. But it has been observed that true artists are eccentric or have some form of mental disorders, in the case of Van Gogh, a  bipolar disorder.  It is an alternating happy and sad mood which when left untreated could be fatal. It is during the manic or happy phase though that suicide can occur, because then, the person has the strength to carry out his ideations. In death, his last words were, "La tristesse durera toujours" (the sadness will last forever). He died a sad and unaccomplished man. 

Vincent is one of the first tunes I learned to play with the guitar. It is a good piece for somebody learning how to pluck. Then it was just a piece to practice on. Now it has more meaning that I sometimes find  hard to fathom.  Only Van Gogh knew exactly what went on. But if  Don Mclean were right, I will console myself as  Celtic Woman Chloe walks me through the sorrowful but colorful  life of a great Dutch painter.

Chloe Agnew of Celtic Woman

Non C'e Piu (There is No More)

Most rivers may begin high up in the mountains, where snow from the winter, or ancient glaciers, is melting. Another place where rivers rise are the springs.On their way down to the sea, they collect water from rain, and from other streams. In  the song Non C'e Piu, the lyricists described the beginning of a river: "Wave of blue, long ago, nothing but a stream." Then they described how this body of water ends in the ocean: " Rushing through mountain dew, to the sea's cold gleam, nothing but a stream, towards the ocean dream." Most streams or rivers are formed whenever water moved downhill from one place to another. The lines , "Rolling wave, calling now voices clear and pure, find the way home somehow, find the way for sure,"  illustrates how eventually these waves which commenced in small bodies of water, find their end - the oceans. Moreover, the last line, "Wave of green, wave of blue, flowing home," the last wave will eventually reach its end, hence, the Italian translation, "Non sei piu  (there is no longer)."

In plain sight, the writers of the song are just describing a natural phenomenon. How rivers form and how they flow to the seas, and ultimately the oceans. On a deeper level, this may mean dreaming small and then dreaming big. Small aspirations eventually turn to ambitions. After that, gloriously achieving them until one is self-actualized, which I believe a small percentage of humanity succeeds of doing. Perhaps this applies to Pope John Paul   II, Mother Theresa, Dalai Lama, among others. But then the innate ability of humans to constantly thirst and hunger for more defeats Abraham Maslow's fifth hierarchy of human needs which is self-actualization. This level means there is nothing left to conquer.

Non C'e Piu utilized Symphony Number 9 Largo II  by Dvorak to create a variety of emotions. The piece   is a work of a musical genius. But it is a higher form of music that only a few understands. How can something beautiful be taken for granted for something popular which is destructive?

How  far better can  emotions be communicated then than through words? In the first video below, Celtic Woman interpreted a David Downes,Barry McCrea, and Vaitriona Ni Dhubhghaill collaboration:

Onda blu, dove vai

Non lo chiedero

Cio che tu perderai

Non lo cerchero

Cerchi di sfociare

Corri sempre giu

Quando trov il mare

Fiume non c'è piu

Wave of blue, long ago

Nothing but a stream

Rushing through mountain dew

To the sea's cold gleam

Nothing but a stream

Towards the ocean dream

Nata dal cielo

Day by day, deeper now

Al di là per quel

Songo sempre piu

Al di là delle colline

Scorri oltre il confine

Fiume non c'è piu

Rolling wave, calling now

Voices clear and pure

Find the way home somehow

Find the way for sure

Quando vuoi sboccare

Scorri sempre giu

Finché trov il mare

Finché non sei piu

Wave of green, wave of blue

Flowing home

Non sei piu

In this second video, Libera, a group of very young, talented boys from the UK, did  a Robert Prizeman version entitled, "Going Home."

With angels and cherubs singing, how can Dvorak's masterpiece go wrong?  You may disagree with my positions, but I love the dynamics of opinions. They make a wide range of possibilities. I would not want to reach the point of Non C'e Piu. With that, I keep the waves infinitely flowing.

Somewhere

Somewhere is perhaps the most popular song from the 1957 Broadway hit musical West Side Story.  The music is composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The song was later made into a film in 1961. It has been recorded by quite a number of artists and a favorite piece to sing in concerts, contests, and surprisingly, even in funerals. Over the years though, Somewhere has been synonymous to the uniquely incomparable Barbra Streisand.  As she ages, she becomes a better performer as shown in the video below. Who can give justice to a timeless song better than her?

Barbra Streisand

Celtic Woman?  Probably one of the second placers, but on the second thought, it is really hard to compare. One is a soloist, and the other, an ensemble.  It is evident though, that both use a lot of visuals, orchestrations,back-up vocals or choir, and instruments in their shows. These "collaterals" enhance each performance.

Celtic Woman

Calming. Soothing. Perfect singing to put energetic kids to sleep.  You can hear a pin drop. Celtic Woman, you are always welcome to sing to my kids.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

The 1939 Wizard of Oz , the most watched film in history, produced the most popular song of all time Over the Rainbow. It also made Judy Garland a household name not only in the United States but all over the world, as well.
 

Judy Garland

I don't know if we should ever doubt the number one status. My kids who were born on 2000 and 2003 either hum or sing this tune occasionally, to this very date. This song is as great as its makers, Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, composer and lyricist, respectively, who made possible what our ardent desires and aspirations are, in a place:

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow.
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?

Celtic Woman

Garland's raw singing just made the song a masterpiece, while Celtic Woman's rendition turned the cosmos into deep slumber.

A classic is meant to last... even after forever.

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Celtic Woman, German Version