Twelve Days of Christmas

Day 9 - O Jesulein süss (O Little One Sweet)

Samuel Scheidt: O Jesulein süss (1650)

J.S. Bach: O Jesulein süss (O Little One Sweet) (1736)

The text and tune for the Christmas poem O Jesulein süss (O Little One Sweet) first appeared in Friedrich Spee's hymnal Auserlesene, Catholische, Geistliche Kirchengesäng (Selected Catholic Spiritual Church-Songs), published in Cologne in 1623. The words are attributed to Valentin Thilo (1607-1662). In 1650, German composer Samuel Scheidt composed a musical setting of the hymn, and nearly a century later, in 1736, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a harmonization of the melody as a sacred song for solo voice and accompaniment. Long beloved as a German Christmas carol, O Jesulein süss began appearing in English translation in the early 20th century. Perhaps the best-known of these translations was made by the Anglican priest and liturgist Percy Dearmer, who arranged Bach’s solo song harmonization for four-part chorus and published it as O Little One Sweet in 1928.

O Jesulein süß, o Jesulein mild!

    O little one sweet, O little one mild,

Deins Vaters Willn hast du erfüllt;

    Thy Father's purpose thou hast fulfilled;

Bist kommen aus dem Himmelreich,

    Thou camest from heaven to mortal ken,

Uns armen Menschen worden gleich,

    Equal to be with us poor men,

O Jesulein süß, o Jesulein mild!

    O little one sweet, O little one mild.

O Jesulein süß, o Jesulein mild!

    O little one sweet, O little one mild,

Mit Freuden hast du die Welt erfüllt,

    With joy thou hast the whole world filled;

Du kommst herab vom Himmelssaal,

    Thou camest here from heaven's domain,

Und tröst’st uns in dem Jammertal,

    To bring men comfort in their pain,

O Jesulein süß, o Jesulein mild!

    O little one sweet, O little one mild.

O Jesulein süß, o Jesulein mild!

    O little one sweet, O little one mild,

Du bist der Lieb ein Ebenbild,

    In thee Love's beauties are all distilled;

Zünd an in uns der Liebe Flamm,

    Then light in us thy love's bright flame,

Dass wir dich lieben all zusamm’,

    That we may give thee back the same,

O Jesulein süß, o Jesulein mild!

    O little one sweet, O little one mild.

O Jesulein süss - Stephen Mann, treble recorder

Samuel Scheidt: O Jesulein süss (1650) - Bach Ensemble Amsterdam

J.S. Bach: O Little One Sweet (1736) - arr. Dearmer / The King's Singers