La Nit de Nadal (Christmas Night) 
This short Christmas carol is a traditional song from the Catalonia region of northeast Spain. Arranged for solo piano by Nigel Edmund-Jones (Fullscore Pubishing), note for note from the setting for classical guitar by Spanish virtuoso guitarist and composer Miguel Llobet.
 
Biography
Llobet originally trained as an artist and continued to paint throughout his life. Born in 1878 in Barcelona, he studied guitar from the age of 11. After meeting Francisco Tárrega, in 1892, he began to study with him at the Municipal Conservatory of Music in Barcelona.
 
In 1901 he performed his first public concert at the Conservatory of València, and followed this with concerts at conservatories in Seville and Málaga. After his first concert outside of Spain, in Paris in 1904, he temporarily relocated in 1910 to Buenos Aires, from where he played concerts throughout South and Central America and the Caribbean. He returned to live and perform in Paris in 1905. After that he toured extensively in the Americas and throughout Europe. In 1915, he taught 22-year-old Andrés Segovia, who subsequently immortalised Llobet's arrangements of works by Isaac Albéniz. 
 
Llobet’s recordings around 1930 were some of the first of the classical guitar. He continued to tour extensively around Europe; back in Barcelona, the young Cuban virtuoso José Rey de la Torre was a pupil, taught at Llobet's home from 1932-34. Now 55 years of age, Llobet began to cut back on his performance schedule and during these three years left Barcelona only once, for a month's tour of Scandinavia. He had a quiet retirement, frequented concerts and hosted guests such as Emilio Pujol and Manuel de Falla. The Spanish civil war began in 1936 and Barcelona was besieged, during which his health spiralled downwards. He died of pleurisy in 1938.
 
Song lyrics: La Nit de Nadal (Christmas Night)
 
El desembre, congelat, confús es retira.
Abril, de flors coronat, tot el món admira.
Quan en un jardí d’amor neix una divina flor
D’una rosa bella fecunda i poncella.
 
El primer pare causà la nit tenebrosa
Que a tot el món ofuscà la vista penosa;
Mes, en una mitja nit, brilla el sol que n’és eixit
D’una bella aurora que el cel enamora.
 
El mes de maig ha florit, sens ésser encara,
Un lliri blanc i polit de fragància rara,
Que per tot el món se sent, de Llevant fins a Ponent,
Tota sa dolçura i olor amb Ventura.
 
Source: CPDL. Translation below by Andy Behrens:
 
Frozen, dim December retreats.
The whole world marvels at April, crowned by flowers,
When in a garden of love a divine flower is born
From a beautiful rose, fruitful and virginal.

Our first father [Adam] brought on the night
Which darkens everyone's sight.
But at midnight, the risen sun shines --
Announcing a beautiful dawn, delighting the sky.

The month of May, not yet in full flower, has budded
A white and shining lily, of such rare fragrance
That from Orient to Occident all can breathe in
All its sweetness and scent with blessedness.
 
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Guitar recordings:
John Williams seems to play the piece at breakneck speed (Spotify link: 1m 09s). Julian Bream (Spotify: 1m 28s) recorded this work in 1991. Our favourite recording is by Italian guitarist Lorenzo Micheli in 2004 on Naxos (Spotify link), with a more leisurely pace of 1m 33s perhaps reflecting a less hectic scene on Christmas night.
 
A recording of the piece cannot be found as a solo piano arrangement.
 
Cover image: Nativity of Jesus by Spanish painter Federico Barocci (1535-1612), painted c.1599. A replica by the artist (Crib, c.1597) is in the Prado, Madrid. Location: Pinacoteca Ambrosiana art museum, Milan, Italy (more info). 
 
Inside cover portrait by Ramon Casas (1866-1932). Held in the National Art Museum of Catalonia. 
 
Quand Dieu naquit à Noël, an old French carol uses the same tune:
- Louis-Claude Daquin (1694-1772) - No. 10 Noël (Grand Jeu et Duo) from Nouveau Livre de Noëls (Op.2, 1757) for harpsichord/organ. Find it on IMSLP here.
- Claude Balbastre (1724-1799) - No. 6 Quand Jésus naquit à Noël from Première Suite de Noëls for harpsichord/organ. Find it on IMSLP here.
 
More Christmas piano music published by Fullscore Music:
[Free downloads] fullscoremusic.co.uk/christmas
The Cradle in Bethlehem (Roger Quilter), Gebet in der Christnacht (Fanny Mendelssohn) Hensel, Mariä Wiegenlied (Max Reger), The Little Girls' Dance (Niels Gade), Julstämning (Elfrida Andrée), Chant de Noël (De Séverac), Waltz (The Christmas Tree) (Rebikov), Don oíche úd i mBeithil (That star-lit night in Bethlehem) (Trad. Irish, arr. Nigel EdmundJones) - and more Christmas works for choir or flute and piano (Silent Night by Hans Sitt). and Christmas Sonatina by Carl Reinecke.
 
The following songs are also arranged for solo piano and published by Fullscore Publications (included in Songs without Words, Book 1, available only from Amazon here):
Morgen! (Richard Strauss): Score preview & download link
A Mirage (Amy Beach): Score preview & download link
Au bord de l'eau (Gabriel Fauré): Score preview & download link