Since my recent posting about two English-language hymns for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe that appear in The Divine Office Hymnal (2023), Stephen Kasperick-Postellon, the music director-liturgist at St. Paul’s Benedictine Monastery in Oakdale, MN, has provided a great deal of information that I had not been able to find prior to the posting. With thanks for his research, I’m offering an update for interested readers of my earlier post.
First, here is the Spanish original “Eres mujer de casa, u, además, peregrina” of the hymn appearing as “Heart of the household” in The Divine Office Hymnal with my slavish English translation:
Eres mujer de casa y, además, peregrina,
dedicada a lo tuyo como madre y esposa,
pero segues la huella por donde Dios camina
y estás de corozón en cada cosa.
You are the woman of the house and, furthermore, a pilgrim,
dedicated to what is yours as mother and wife,
but you (also) follow the path where God is walking
and you do so wholeheartedly in everything.
Estás en la montaña antes del alba,
-que el amor te apresura-,
y en cualquier otro Belén por esperar que nazca
de neuvo Dio, y preparer su cuna.
On the mountain before the dawn you appear
because love impels you–
and in whatever other Bethlehem to await the birth
of God born anew, and to prepare his cradle.
Te haces de nuestra raza,
pronuncias nuestra lengua con dulzura
y nos pides te hagamos una Casa,
para en ella monstramos tu sin igual ternura.
You take up (membership in) our race,
pronouncing our language with sweetness
and you ask us to build a House for you
so that we might show your tenderness without equal.
Bajaz, subes, que para eso eres ave,
ayer por el Calvario y por el cielo,
hoy por la patria suave,
y en pos de ti volamos en tu veulo.
You descend, you ascend, so that you are like a bird,
yesterday (flying) down to Calvary and (then) up through the sky/heaven,
today to (our) beautiful homeland,
and, following you, we fly in your flight.
Gloria demos al Padre que no tuvo principio,
gloria perenna a Cristo que es el Hijo del Padre,
y al Espiritu Santo, Consolator divino.
!Que todo el universe los aclame! Amen.
Let us give glory to the Father who has no beginning,
eternal glory to Christ who is the Son of the Father,
and to the Holy Spirit, Comforter divine.
Let the entire universe acclaim you! Amen.
Although the English-language translations in The Divine Office Hymnal are not constrained by end-rhymes, it is interesting to note that the Spanish original employs an abab end-rhyme scheme.
Second, here is the Spanish original “Morenez de morena hermosura” of the Vespers hymn for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with my slavish English translation:
Morenez de morena hermosura,
No nevado cando de jazmín;
Sí amalgama, cresol que madura
Nuestra sed del Amor, mar sin fin.
Brown-haired lady of brown beauty,
Not the snowy radiance of jasmine;
Yes, you who unite, crucible that matures
Our thirst for Love, sea without end.
Ella es reina, nosotros vasallos;
Ella es río, nosotros la sed;
Ella estrella, nosotros los rayos;
Ella nave, nosotros la red.
She is the queen, we her vassals/servants;
She is the river, we the thirst;
She (is) the star, we the rays;
She (is) the ship, we the net.
Sobre ell surco del llanto, sus ojos,
Sobre el hambre de Madre, su amor;
Sus dos manos, un viento de rezos,
En la noche de América, sol.
Over the furrow of tears, her eyes,
Over (a) Mother’s hunger, her love;
Her two hands, a breeze of prayers,
In the night of America, the sun.
Cuando el valle se viste de sombras
Y el silenio es la voz del hogar,
Te loamos, Señor, que te nombras
El Amor no agotado de amar. Amen.
When the valley dresses itself in shadows
And silence is the voice of the home,
We praise you, Lord, who names yourself
The Love never exhausted by loving. Amen.
Note that, although the English translation doesn’t use end-rhyme, the Spanish original employs an abab end-rhyme scheme.
Finally, Mr. Kasperick-Postellon also found an a capella recording of “Morenez de morena hermosura” online: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&pli=1#inbox/FMfcgzGwJJTdHdTzZHNrclzGQrSWKQKq?projector=1. The question of where or how widely used this yoking of hymn-text and melody is remains open.