"" (; "From Starry Skies Thou Comest", "From Starry Skies Descending", "You Came a Star from Heaven", "You Come Down from the Stars") is a
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...
from Italy, written in 1732 in
Nola
Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian wor ...
by Saint
Alphonsus Liguori
Alphonsus Liguori, CSsR (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787), sometimes called Alphonsus Maria de Liguori or Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philoso ...
in the musical style of a
pastorale
Pastorale refers to something of a pastoral nature in music, whether in form or in mood.
In Baroque music, a pastorale is a movement of a melody in thirds over a drone bass, recalling the Christmas music of ''pifferari'', players of the tradi ...
. Though found in numerous
arrangements and commonly sung, it is traditionally associated with the ''
zampogna'', or large-format Italian
bagpipe
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, ...
.
History
The melody and original lyrics for the hymn were written by
Alphonsus Liguori
Alphonsus Liguori, CSsR (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787), sometimes called Alphonsus Maria de Liguori or Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philoso ...
, a prominent
Neapolitan priest and
scholastic philosopher (later
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
) who founded the
Redemptorist
The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...
missionary order. In 1732, while staying at Convent of the Consolation, one of his order's houses in the small city of
Deliceto in the
province of Foggia
The Province of Foggia ( it, Provincia di Foggia ; Foggiano: ) is a province in the Apulia (Puglia) region of southern Italy.
This province is also known as Daunia, after the Daunians, an Iapygian pre-Roman tribe living in Tavoliere plain, an ...
in southeastern Italy, he wrote the Christmas song that begins "You come down from the stars" entitled "Little song to Child Jesus". This version with Italian lyrics actually came after the original song written in
Neapolitan entitled "For Jesus' birth" and that begins ' (When the child was born) and sometimes referred to as the "Carol of the Bagpipers" (''Canzone d'i zampognari''). Since that time, the "Little song to Child Jesus" became a widely popular Christmas carol in Italy.
There are several translations of the lyrics into English styled after that of the
King James Bible; one of these translations is given below.
At least one translation into modern English also exists, as well as a literal translation into English of the Neapolitan "". The piece was also published in 1932 by A. Paolilli's Music Co. of Providence, Rhode Island. That version credits the music composition to Tommaso Capocci and the words to
Pope Pius IX and does not mention the earlier work.
Text and melody
The first two stanzas are:
1. Tu scendi dalle stelle,
O Re del Cielo,
e vieni in una grotta,
al freddo e al gelo.
O Bambino mio Divino
Io ti vedo qui a tremar,
O Dio Beato
Ahi, quanto ti costò
l'avermi amato!
2. A te, che sei del mondo
il Creatore,
mancano panni e fuoco;
O mio Signore!
Caro eletto Pargoletto,
Quanto questa povertà
più mi innamora!
Giacché ti fece amor
povero ancora!
1. From starry skies descending,
Thou comest, glorious King,
A manger low Thy bed,
In winter's icy sting;
O my dearest Child most holy,
Shudd'ring, trembling in the cold!
Great God, Thou lovest me!
What suff'ring Thou didst bear,
That I near Thee might be!
2. Thou art the world's Creator,
God's own and true Word,
Yet here no robe, no fire
For Thee, Divine Lord.
Dearest, fairest, sweetest Infant,
Dire this state of poverty.
The more I care for Thee,
Since Thou, O Love Divine,
Will'st now so poor to be.
Variations and arrangements
Domenico Scarlatti used the tune in his Sonata in C major, Kk513.
Ottorino Respighi adopted the carol for the second
movement of his ''
Trittico botticelliano'', P 151 (1927), "Adoration of the Magi".
Anthony Velona
Anthony Velona (November 16, 1920 – January 31, 1986) was an American author, lyricist, and composer. Velona was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.
He wrote or co-wrote numerous songs including the 1955 hit ''Domani
"Domani" (Italian for "tom ...
and Remo Capra arranged English lyrics upon the original musical composition for a version entitled "O Bambino" (also known as "One Cold and Blessed Winter"). This version was recorded by several singers in the late 1960s, before the history of the song was widely known, and was partly incorporated into
Sergio Franchi
Sergio Franchi (born Sergio Franci Galli; April 6, 1926 – May 1, 1990) was an Italian-American tenor and actor who enjoyed success in the United States and internationally after gaining notice in Britain in the early 1960s. In 1962, RCA Vict ...
's traditional Italian version on his 1965 recording.
Italian-American tenor
Sergio Franchi
Sergio Franchi (born Sergio Franci Galli; April 6, 1926 – May 1, 1990) was an Italian-American tenor and actor who enjoyed success in the United States and internationally after gaining notice in Britain in the early 1960s. In 1962, RCA Vict ...
originally recorded the traditional Italian version on a
Durium
Durium is a highly durable synthetic resin developed in 1929. It was used in phonograph records, as well as in the casting process for metallic type and in the aeronautics industry.
Origin
It is a resorcinol-formaldehyde resin, the result of ...
(Italy) single () and a Durium LP released in the US in 1965. He also recorded a slightly updated arrangement of this song on his 1965
RCA Victor Billboard Top 40
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
album ''
The Heart of Christmas'' (').
''Sergio Franchi – The Heart Of Christmas'' (''Cuor' Di Natale'')
/ref>
Contemporary Italian composer Piero Niro has produced a composition entitled ''Three Variations on "Tu scendi dalle stelle" for a large orchestra'' (2000). Ralph Woodward
Ralph Woodward (born 17 November 1971) is an English classical conductor, arranger and organist. His main focus is on conducting choirs.
Early life and education
Ralph Woodward was born in Stockton-on-Tees, England.
He attended Durham Chorister ...
has arranged the carol for unaccompanied choir.
See also
* List of Christmas carols
This list of Christmas carols is organized by country, language or culture of origin. Originally, a "Christmas carol" referred to a piece of vocal music in carol form whose lyrics centre on the theme of Christmas or the Christmas season. The d ...
References
Further reading
*''The International Book of Christmas Carols'', ed. Walter Ehret and George K. Evans (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA: Prentice-Hall, 1963), p. 76
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle
Christmas carols
Italian songs
Italian Christian hymns