[Smt-talk] German christmas hymns.

[Kyle Adams]

The fourth movement from Mendelssohn's Ein Sommernacthstraum also has the words "gute nacht mit eia poppei." On the recording I have by Philippe Herreweghe (which is a very beautiful one), it's pronounced "eye-ah," for what it's worth. 

Kyle Adams
Associate Professor of Music Theory
Jacobs School of Music
Indiana University

On Dec 11, 2013, at 16:58, "Bob Kosovsky" <kos at panix.com> wrote:

> Before Marie, there was Hansel (of Hänsel und Gretel), who also sang Eia
> popeia.  Since he's responding to Gretel's "Suse, liebe Suse" - in which
> the first last and words are the same, or have the same vowelization, so
> too "Eia popeia" is probably also meant to rhyme.
> 
> A hasty Google Books search reveals that the phrase is most often
> associated with lullabies or cradle songs.  One that sticks out to me has
> a refrain:
> 
> "Ei eia popeia."
> 
> To me that strongly suggests (in American pronunciation): "eye, eye-ya
> popeye-a" since I don't think there are any alternative pronunciations to
> "ei" (that is, eye).
> 
> 
> Bob Kosovsky, Ph.D. -- Curator, Rare Books and Manuscripts,
> Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
> blog:  http://www.nypl.org/blog/author/44   Twitter: @kos2
>   Listowner: OPERA-L ; SMT-TALK ; SMT-ANNOUNCE ; SoundForge-users
> --- My opinions do not necessarily represent those of my institutions ---
> 
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