There is no rose of such virtue
As is the rose that bare Jesu:
Alleluya.

For in this rose contained was
Heaven and earth in little space:
Res miranda1.

By that rose we may well see
That he is God in [person]2 three:
Pari forma3.

The angels sung the shepherds to:
"Gloria in excelsis Deo",
Gaudeamus3.

Leave we all this worldly mirth,
And follow we this joyful birth:
Transeamus.

J. Rutter sets stanzas 1-2
E. Maconchy sets stanzas 1-4

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Res miranda = thing of wonder.
² Maconchy: "persons"
³ Pari forma = Equal in form.
⁴ Gaudeamus = Let us rejoice.

Authorship

• by Anonymous / Unidentified Author ( 15th-century )  [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

• by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "There is no rose", op. 28 no. 3 (1942) [treble chorus, solo voices, and harp], from A Ceremony of Carols, no. 3 [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907 - 1994), "There is no rose", 1984, stanzas 1-4 [chorus] [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by William James Mathias (1934 - 1992), "There is no rose of such virtue", op. 453 no. 3, from Ave Rex, no. 3 [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by John (Milford) Rutter, CBE (b. 1945), "There is no rose", stanzas 1-2 [chorus], from Dancing Day; A cycle of traditional Christmas carols, no. 4 [ sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Bertram Kottmann , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission FRE ; composed by Gary Bachlund.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Thomas Jaenicke

This text was added to the website: 2004-03-29
Line count: 15
Word count: 69