Playlist
* Ríu Ríu Chíu Bruce Cockburn 6:26
* A la nanita nana Alina Alcántara, Crystal Lizardo, Don Soledad 3:03
Music notes
Ríu Ríu ChíuThis is a sixteenth century or earlier Spanish villancico; a dance-song equivalent to a French carole or English carol from that time. Some music scholars attribute it to the Catalan composer Mateo Flecha the Elder, and some suspect the Aragonese composer Bartomeu Càrceres, but it is accepted by most as being anonymous.
The song did not survive in the popular culture. We only know it from an old music book of villancicos that was published in Venice in 1556. It is in the part of the book that has Villancicos de Navidad a quatro bozes (Christmas villancicos for four voices). There is only one known remaining copy of that songbook. It is at Uppsala University in Sweden.
The earliest recording ever made of Riu Riu Chiu was in 1957, by the highly regarded ensemble New York Pro Musica which was active from 1952 to 1974. The hallmarks of that group were being able to find long-forgotten old songs in obscure places, and a reputation for being meticulous in researching how to authentically perform their early music. They sang this in the original archaic Spanish from the antique songbook, and they would have sought advice from a linguist regarding the proper 16th century pronunciation.
During the folk revival of the 1960s this lively Christmas song spread from the early-music appreciators out to the general public via both the folk music community and pop music: It was recorded in modern Spanish by such groups as the Kingston Trio and The Monkees. (Those are links to their versions.)
More recently, in 1993 Canadian folksinger Bruce Cockburn recorded this version that he learned from the New York Pro Musica’s recording in antique Spanish. It is from his 1993 album simply called Christmas. Cockburn accompanies himself here on guitars, dulcimer and percussion, and is accompanied by Hugh March on the violin, Dick Smith on percussion, and background vocalists Eliseo Borrero, Alberto Mirabal and Candi Sosa.
The expression “Riu, riu, chiu” is not translatable; it represents a bird singing. That was first thought to represent the song of a nightingale, but scholars now think that both etymology and the other lyrics in the chorus indicate that it was intended to be the song of a kingfisher. The lyrics and translation from a fan site are:
Riu, riu, chiu, la guarda ribera Dios guarde el lobo de nuestra cordera
El lobo rabioso la quiso morderMas Dios poderoso la supo defenderQuizole hazer que no pudiesse pecarNi aun original esta uirgen no tuuiera (Chorus)Este uiene a dar a los muertos uidaY uiene a reparar de todas la caylaEs la luz del dia aqueste mocueloEste es el cordero que San Juan dixera (Chorus) Yo ui mil garcones que andauan contandoPor aqui bolando haziendo mil sonesDiziendo a gascones, “Gloria sea en el cieloY paz en el suelo pues Jesus nasciera.” (Chorus)
Este uiene a dar a los muertos uidaY uiene a reparar de todas la caylaEs la luz del dia aqueste mocuelo.Este es el cordero que San Juan dixera. (Chorus)
Yo ui mil garcones que andauan contandoPor aqui bolando haziendo mil sonesDiziendo a gascones “Gloria sea en el cieloY paz en el suelo pues Jesus nasciera.” (Chorus)
A translation is:
Riu, riu, chiu, the river bank protects it, As God kept the wolf from our lamb
The rabid wolf tried to bite herBut God Almighty knew how to defend herHe wished to create her impervious to sinNor was this maid to embody original sin
He comes to give life to the deadHe comes to redeem the fall of manThis child is the light of dayHe is the very lamb Saint John prophecied
A thousand singing herons I saw passing,Flying overhead, sounding A thousand voicesExulting, “Glory be in the heavens, and peace on earth, for Jesus has been born.”
He comes to give life to the deadHe comes to redeem the fall of manThis child is the light of dayHe is the very lamb Saint John prophesied
A thousand singing herons I saw passingFlying overhead, sounding a thousand voicesExulting, “Glory be in the heavens, And peace on earth for Jesus has been born.”
A la nanita nana is a Christmas carol written by Juan Francisco Muñoz y Pabón and was first published in 1904. It is very popular in the Hispanic world both as a Christmas carol and as a lullaby sung to babies at any time of the year. The song recently came to popular attention among non-Hispanic young people after the Disney-created band The Cheetah Girls sang their version of it in their second TV movie on the Disney Channel.
I also have a beautiful a cappella choral version of the song that was recorded by the Trapp Family Singers in 1953, but I found today’s rendition on YouTube and especially enjoyed the guitar accompaniment by Don Soledad. The singers are Crystal Lizardo and Alina Alcántara.
A la nanita nana, nanita ea, nanita ea,Mi Jesús tiene sueño. Bendito sea, bendito sea. (X2)
Fuentecita que corre clara y sonora,Ruiseñor que en la selva, cantando llora,Callan mientras la cuna se balancea.
A la nanita nana, nanita ea, (X2)
English translation:
Come, let’s sing a little lullaby, Come, let’s sing a little,My Jesus is sleepy. Blessed be, blessed be.
Little spring that runs clear & sonorous,Nightingale that in the forest,Weeps as it sings,Hush, while the cradle rocks.
Come, let’s sing a little lullaby, Come, let’s sing a little lullaby.
