Silent Night by Barbour Publishing Inc

Author:Barbour Publishing, Inc. [MCLAUGHLIN, DAVID]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-62416-489-7
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2013-11-09T05:00:00+00:00

Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels we have heard on high,

Sweetly singing o’er the plains,

And the mountains in reply,

Echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Sing the Song of the Angels

Angels We Have Heard on High” was originally the traditional French tune “Les Angeles dans Nos Campagnes,” which translates as “Angels in Our Countryside.” The angels in question weren’t in any European countryside, though—they were in the hills around Bethlehem, telling the shepherds the good news.

Legend has it that the French shepherds took this part of Luke’s Gospel to heart, and they would sing the Nativity story on the hills around Christmastime. Perhaps it was purely for the joy of worship, or perhaps it was simply a way of letting the shepherds on the other side of the valley or on neighboring hills know they were not alone. These were, of course, the days before cell phones! The song they sang is reputed to have evolved into “Les Angeles dans Nos Campagnes.”

It’s a simple but joyful telling of that angelic visit on the night of the Savior’s birth. The hills resound with the angels’ chorus; then the shepherds sing it to the world. When others ask them what all the noise is about, they reply, “Come to Bethlehem and see!”

In 1862 four years before he became bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in England, James Chadwick translated the traditional French carol into “Angels We Have Heard on High.” It first appeared in print in Holy Family Hymns. The tune we know came later, adapted by American Edwin Shippen Barnes, who studied music in France and may have heard the original version there.

Just as God didn’t hesitate to become man, so humankind shouldn’t hesitate to sing the songs of praise the angels sang. When it comes to “Gloria, in excelsis deo” (or “Glory to God in the highest”), you don’t need wings to sing. You just need what those French shepherds must have had—a good strong pair of lungs.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

LUKE 2:17–18

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.