526 A Great and Mighty Wonder
St. Germanus, 634-734
Tr. John M. Neale, 1818-66
This is one of a half dozen or more hymns in our book that have come down from the ancient Eastern or Greek Church. (Other hymns from this period are Nos. 34, 113, 115, 143, and 398.)
St. Germanus was born and died in Constantinople. He lived to be a hundred years old. He became an influential leader in the church, and served, for a time, as Patriarch, or Bishop of Constantinople.
For this translation, we are indebted to John M. Neale, English hymnologist and classical scholar. Neale possessed extraordinary linguistic skill and did more than anyone else to make available to English speaking people some of the rich treasure of Greek and Latin hymnody.
MUSIC. ES IST EIN’ ROS’ ENTSPRUNGEN, also known as “Rosa Mystica,” is a traditional German melody, originally set to a well-known carol beginning with the stanza:
Es ist ein Reis entsprungen
Aus einer Wurzel zart,
Als uns die Alten sungen,
Von Jesse kam die Art,
Und hat ein Blümlein bracht
Mitten im kalten Winter
Wohl zu der halben Nacht.
It is an attractive and interesting tune, of irregular rhythm. The present setting was made by Michael Praetorius, 1517-1621, German composer and Kapellmeister.
For comments on Praetorius see Hymn 248.