“Personent hodie” is a Christmas carol originally published in the 1582 Finnish song book Piae Cantiones, a volume of 74 Medieval songs with Latin texts collected by Jacobus Finno (Jaakko Suomalainen), a Swedish Lutheran cleric, and published by T.P. Rutha. The song book had its origins in the libraries of cathedral song schools, whose repertory had strong links with medieval Prague, where clerical students from Finland and Sweden had studied for generations. A melody found in a 1360 manuscript from the nearby Bavarian city of Moosburg in Germany is highly similar, and it is from this manuscript that the song is usually dated.
The Latin text is probably a musical parody of an earlier 12th century song beginning “intonent hodie voces ecclesie“, written in honour of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of Russia, sailors and children – to whom he traditionally brings gifts on his feast day, 6 December. Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrott note that two of the verses have an unusual double repeat (“Submersum, –sum, –sum puerum“; “Reddens vir-, vir-, vir-ginibus“). In “intonent hodie“, these were used to illustrate the three boys and three girls saved by St Nicholas from drowning and prostitution, respectively. The text was probably re-written for the Feast of Holy Innocents (28 December) when choristers and their “boy bishop” traditionally displaced the senior clergy from the choir stalls. The carol is still often associated with Holy Innocents’ Day.
Songs from Piae Cantiones continued to be performed in Finland until the 19th century. The book became well known in Britain after a rare copy of Piae Cantiones owned by Peter of Nyland was given as a gift to the British Minister in Stockholm. He subsequently gave it to John Mason Neale in 1852, and it was from this copy that Neale, in collaboration with Thomas Helmore published songs in two collections in 1853 and 1854 respectively.
The most common English translation of the text is by “James M. Joseph”, a pseudonym of the composer Jane M. Joseph (1894–1929). She translates the title as “On this day earth shall ring”, although there are several other English translations. Other versions include Elizabeth Poston’s 1965 “Boys’ Carol”, which translates the first line of the text as “Let the boys’ cheerful noise/Sing today none but joys” and John Mason Neale’s “Let the Song be Begun”, which uses the melody but not the text of the carol. Aidan Oliver’s non-verse translation renders the text as “Today let the voices of children resound in joyful praise of Him who is born for us.” The tune was also used for the hymn “Long Ago, Prophets Knew”.
The carol became more prominent in England after being arranged for unison voices and orchestra in 1916 by Gustav Holst (1874–1934), where in its organ reduction it is often used as a processional hymn in church and cathedral services. Holst’s version often forms part of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, and was last featured in the service broadcast by BBC2 from King’s College Chapel, Cambridge in 2011 following the sixth lesson. This arrangement is sometimes referred to as “Theodoric” in reference to the composer’s middle name (Theodore) and, in this setting, is the tune used for Percy Dearmer’s hymn God is love, his the care. In addition to Holst’s version, there is a harmonised choral arrangement by Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrott in the New Oxford Book of Carols, an arrangement by Antony Pitts in the Naxos Book of Carols and two arrangements by John Rutter; one for choir and full orchestra which emulates percussive medieval instrumentation, and another in his anthology Dancing Day for female or boys voices with harp or piano accompaniment. The Retrover Ensemble’s performance for Naxos Records pairs the piece with Gaudete, another carol from Piae Cantiones.
