The original text is not shown since it exists only in Cyrillic.
An English translation and transliteration of the original text is however provided below.
English translation:
1. Glory
Glory to God in heaven, glory!
Glory to our Lord in the whole earth, glory!
May our Lord never grow old, glory!
May his brilliant robes never wear out, glory!
May his beloved steed never die, glory!
May his chief servants never betray him, glory!
May truth flourish in the whole world, glory!
May the sun shine over the world, glory!
May the royal treasury be ever full of gold, glory!
May the great rivers run graciously to the sea, glory!
And the little streams down to the mill.
We sing to honour the grain,
A comfort to the old,
and for good people to hear!
Glory!
2. Holy Evening
See, the Lord himself is at home.
He is indeed at home.
Make no mistake, it is clear!
Blessed evening, holy evening.
Get up from your bed and open the doors!
You can expect three guests:
First – the hot sun.
Second – a bright moon, and
Third – the kindly rain.
Blessed evening, holy evening.
But let them come during the night.
O, water our wheat.
Blessed evening, holy evening.
Be fit for the New Year!
For the New Year,
With all creation.
Blessed evening, holy evening.
3. Guessing Song
All alone I sit by the bowl
And mix the dough.
I’ll sit a bit longer
And mix a bit longer.
If we have sung to you,
You’ll have good luck!
If you endure, your wish will come true!
The sleigh stands all ready,
Covered with a cloth,
Just sit in the sleigh
And off you go!
If we have sung to you,
You’ll have good luck!
If you endure, your wish will come true!
I sat by the window,
Waiting for my dear one to come.
I couldn’t go on waiting.
I lay down to sleep.
I got up in the morning and suddenly remembered
I looked at myself:
I am a widow.
If we sing, you’ll have good luck,
You’ll have good luck,
Your wish will come true, without fail!
Death is walking down the street
Carrying a pancake in a little dish.
If we have sung to you, you’ll have good luck!
If you get the ring, your wish will come true.
It will come true soon, without fail!
4. O, Kalyudka!
Over the swirling river
There you’ll find a dreaming forest.
O, Kalyudka, Kalyudka!
Huge fires burn in that forest,
O, Kalyudka, Kalyudka!
Around those fires there are oak benches,
And on those benches, sit handsome young men.
O, Kalyudka, Kalyudka!
Beyond the river the fair youths
Sing songs to beautiful little Kalyudka!
O, Kalyudka, Kalyudka!
Among them there’s an old man,
Sharpening his knife.
The pot’s boiling,
And just nearby there’s a goat.
They plan to slaughter it!
O, Kalyudka, Kalyudka!
O, little brother, Ivanushka,
Get out, jump out,
Little brother, Ivanushka!
“I’d love to jump out, but
The hot stones draw me to the pot,
And yellow sands have sucked out my heart.”
O, Kalyudka, Kalyudka!
5. Spring Is Coming
Beautiful spring is on its way,
Cold winter ends.
All the white snows will melt,
Streams will flow again,
Grass will grow,
And dense bushes will appear.
Good years are on the way.
My dear girls,
You’ll be going to the forest to pick berries.
Look out for my beautiful lady,
Is she perhaps sitting under a bush,
Braiding her flowing hair?
Grass will grow,
And dense bushes will appear.
Oy lyuli!
My dear girls,
You’ll be going to the forest to pick berries,
Look out for my beautiful lady,
Is she perhaps sitting under a bush,
Braiding her flowing hair?
6. To the Newborn Christ
Come, join David with his harp,
Sing with us.
Come, join David with his harp,
Angels’ voices,
Blending with our own.
We make music for baby Jesus,
And sing with joy,
For this is his birthday!
We bless his endeavours.
With the sun, the moon,
And beams from on high,
We play for Christ,
And sing with joy.
For this is his birthday,
We bless his endeavours.
O, lords and fine people,
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet,
Praise him with the harp and lyre,
Praise him with timbrel and dancing,
Praise him with the strings and pipe,
Praise him with the clash of cymbals,
Praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath, praise him,
For this is his birthday!
We bless his endeavour.
Glory!
Young men and old men,
Young girls and women,
Praise him with trumpets, harps,
Lyres, cymbals and organs,
For this is his birthday!
We bless his endeavours.
Glory!
Trad. by Andrew Colin and Lydia Mazzotti
While providing a transliteration of the sung text, we strongly recommend that a Russian speaker be found (preferably someone familiar with Church Slavonic), who can coach the singers in producing the right sounds.
It is my experience that no transliteration, however scientific, can make it practical to dispense with such guidance. Therefore in this edition we have opted for a relatively simple system of transliteration (here BGN/PCGN romanization of Russian*), which should provide a suitable starting point for ‘Western’ singers, provided they understand that any transliteration is always a compromise, and has to be fleshed out by hearing the actual sounds, rhythms, and colours that the words make when spoken aloud.
This transliteration was made by Henry Howard.
Paul Hillier
* for further information please refer to the Wikipedia article on the BGN/PCGN romanization of Russian
Back to top