Ríu Ríu Chíu

Ríu Ríu Chíu, sometimes shortened to Ríu Ríu or Ríu Chíu, is a Spanish villancico that has attained some contemporary fame as a Christmas carol.

Origins

The villancico is attributed by some sources[1] to Mateo Flecha the Elder, who died in 1553; it has also been described as anonymous.[2] The song also bears a strong resemblance to another villancico, Falalanlera, by Bartomeu Càrceres, an Aragonese composer.[3] It is known from a single source, the Cancionero de Upsala, published in 1556 in Venice; a unique copy is preserved at the library of the University of Uppsala. The song appears as the fortieth song of that collection.[4] Daniel R. Melamed described the song as "redoubtable", and mentions it as a contender for the best known piece of Renaissance music.[5]

The apparently nonsense syllables ríu ríu chíu are often taken to represent the song of a nightingale,[6] while the context and etymology are compatible with the call of a kingfisher.[7]

Riu translates as river in the Catalan language, in agreement with the birth place of the accredited composer, and was translated as river by The Monkees, where the roaring river prevented a wolf from crossing to attack sheep.

Themes

The basic theme of the song is the nativity of Christ and the Immaculate Conception. The refrain which gives the villancico its title goes:

Ríu, ríu, chíu, la guarda ribera,
Dios guardó el lobo de nuestra cordera.[8]

"[With a cry of] Ríu, ríu, chíu, the kingfisher, God kept the wolf from our Lamb [Mary, spared of original sin at birth]."

The Immaculate Conception is mentioned in the lyrics:

El lobo rabioso la quiso morder
Mas Dios Poderoso la supo defender
Quísola hacer que no pudiese pecar
Ni aun original esta virgen no tuviera.

"The raging wolf sought to bite her, but God Almighty knew (how) to defend her; He chose to make her so that she could not sin; no original sin was found in that virgin."

The song also mentions themes of the Incarnation and Christmas:

Éste que es nacido es el Gran Monarca
Cristo Patriarca de carne vestido
Hamos redimido con se hacer chiquito
Aunque era infinito finito se hiciera.

"This one that is born is the Great King, Christ the Patriarch clothed in flesh. He redeemed us when He made himself small, though He was Infinite He would make himself finite."

Muchas profecías lo han profetizado
Y aún en nuestros días lo hemos alcanzado
A Dios humanado vemos en el suelo
Y al hombre en el cielo porque Él le quisiera

"Many prophecies have prophesied it, and even in our days we have reached it, God in flesh we see on the ground, and men in heaven because He would wanted"

Yo vi mil Garzones que andavan cantando
Por aqui volando haciendo mil sones
Diciendo a gascones Gloria sea en el Cielo
Y paz en el suelo pues Jesús nasciera.

"I saw a thousand boys (angels) go singing, here making a thousand voices while flying, telling the shepherds of glory in the heavens, and peace to the world since Jesus has been born"[9]

Performances

Classical and early music performers of the song include the Boston Camerata and the Oxford Camerata.

In 1967, the Monkees performed the song live on a Christmas episode of their TV series entitled "The Monkees' Christmas Show".[10][11] A studio version was released on subsequent compilation albums (and later on the 2018 album Christmas Party). The Monkees' producer, Chip Douglas, had performed it himself with his former band, the Modern Folk Quartet, on their 1964 album Changes.

The song was performed in Spanish at King's College, Cambridge in a 1992 Christmas Eve broadcast service entitled "Nine Lessons and Carols".[12]

The song has appeared on the following albums:

See also

References
Spanish Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ríu Ríu Chíu.
  1. Cancionera de Upsala at ChoralWiki, below
  2. Pegram Johnson III and Edna M. Troiano, The Roads from Bethlehem: Christmas Literature from Writers Ancient and Modern (Westminster John Knox Press, 1993; ISBN 0-664-22157-2), pp 130-131
  3. Bartomeu Càrceres, Opera omnia, (Biblioteca de Catalunya, 1995; ISBN 84-7845-121-8), pp. 79-81
  4. Cancionero de Upsala at ChoralWiki
  5. Daniel R. Melamed, "Who wrote Lassus's most famous piece", Early Music 1998 XXVI(1):6-28.
  6. Riu Riu Chiu at allmusic.com.
  7. "guarda rivera" ("he guards the riverbank") is analogous to "guardarrío" ("he guards the river"), a current and older Spanish word for "kingfisher". The European Kingfisher, common in rural 16th-century Europe, nests in riverbanks and aggressively defends its young against predators.
  8. This line is frequently misquoted as “Dios guardó del lobo a nuestra cordera”, but the original text is as given here. See Càrceres, Bartomeu. Opera Omnia. Biblioteca de Catalunya, Jan 1, 1995. p.80.
  9. Paco Marmol and Manolo Casaus, eds, "Riu Riu Chiu"
  10. The Monkees - Riu Chiu (Official HD Music Video), retrieved 2022-12-04
  11. "The Monkees perform "Riu Chiu"". The Monkees Live Almanac. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  12. University, Cambridge. "Riu, Riu, Chiu". King's College Choir. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
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