Angels We Have Heard on High
“Angels We Have Heard on High” – December 15th, 2024 (Carols of Christmas, week 3)
Today’s Christmas carol originates from Luke 2:8-15 (NRSV): “8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’ 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’”
Today’s Christmas carol started out as Echo of the mountains of Bethlehem, a French Christmas carol that was first published in 1842 in the first edition of a book called Selection of hymns to new tunes for all the feasts of the year. It was written by someone identified only by their initials, WM, who lived in a former province in southern France known as Languedoc (literally “the language of Oc”).
Before I read the words to this, let’s consider what happened that night out in the fields. Some shepherds who lived in the fields were keeping watch over their flocks. The duties of a shepherd in that time and place were very demanding. They faced daily hardships and dangers including wily bandits and wild beasts. Shepherds also occupied the lowest rung of the social ladder in the ancient near East, alongside tax collectors and dung sweepers. Their testimonies were worthless in court. They were ostracized from both social and religious life. It was to this despised, excluded, marginalized, and forgotten group that the angel of the Lord appeared. These shepherds were used to dealing with criminals, wolves, hyenas, panthers, jackals, lions, and bears. They were not easily frightened. Yet, when just one angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, the shepherds were terrified. These tough shepherds who were used to dealing with incredibly difficult conditions, challenges, dangers, and degradations, were terrified – the original Greek tells us that they feared with great fear. When seasoned and stalwart sheep herders are terrified, that tells us something about what angels are actually like!
That angel gave the shepherds an assurance, an announcement, and an affirmation. The assurance: “Do not be afraid.” The announcement: “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” The affirmation: “You will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” Think about this – the angel told the shepherds that something had happened that would change everything: a baby had been born who was the true King, Savior, Messiah, and Lord. God chose to first announce this joy-filled good news, the best news of all time, to these shepherds, people who were among the most despised, excluded, marginalized, and forgotten.
And then, “suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’” If one angel’s presence and words produce terror, can you imagine what it must have been like to experience the presence and words of a multitude of them! The title of this old French Christmas carol makes more sense to me when I think about that – surely the heavenly voices echoed in the surrounding mountains, a magnificent sound!
I encourage you to enjoy and receive the glorious imagery evoked in this beautiful retelling of the angelic appearance that night in Bethlehem, Echo of the Mountains of Bethlehem:
- The angels in our countryside have intoned the Hymn of Heaven, and the echo of our mountains repeats this melodious song: Gloria in excelsis Deo, Gloria in excelsis Deo.
- Shepherds, for whom is this feast? What is the object of all these songs? What victor, what conquest deserves these triumphant cries? Gloria in excelsis Deo.
- They announce the birth of the liberator of Israel. And, full of gratitude, let us sing on this solemn day: Gloria in excelsis Deo.
- Let us all go together under the humble roof he has chosen to see the adorable Messiah to whom we will also sing: Gloria in excelsis Deo.
- Let us all seek the happy village that saw him born under its roofs. Let us offer him the tender homage, both with our hearts and with our voices. Gloria in excelsis Deo.
- In the deep humility in which you appear before our eyes, to praise you, King of the world, we will repeat this joyful song: Gloria in excelsis Deo.
- Always filled with the mystery that your love operates today, our duty on earth will be to sing every day: Gloria in excelsis Deo.
- Already the blessed angels – the cherubim, the seraphim – busy with your praises, have learned to say to humans: Gloria in excelsis Deo.
- Shepherds, far from your retreats, join their concerts, and let your tender bagpipes resound in the air: Gloria in excelsis Deo.
- Docile to their example, Lord, we will come henceforth, in the midst of your temple, to sing with them your blessings: Gloria in excelsis Deo.
A variety of small changes were made over the next quarter century by a Jesuit and seminary professor, a Bishop who did his utmost to arouse his countrymen from religious indifference, and a Hagiographer (a writer of the lives of the saints). The title of this Christmas carol morphed to Angels in Our Countryside, taken from the first stanza:
Angels in our countryside: they sang the hymn of the heavens. And the echo of our mountains repeat this melodious song: Gloria in excelsis Deo.
In 1862, Anglo-Irish Bishop, James Chadwick, adapted this French Christmas carol into English, greatly reducing the number of stanzas and calling it Angels We Have Heard on High. Chadwick’s lyrics are original in some sections, including the title, and loosely translated from the French in other sections. The carol quickly became popular in the West Country region of southwest England, where it was described as “Cornish” and was soon included in a collection of Dorset Christmas carols.
Today we sing it to the tune Gloria, arranged by American organist, Edward Shippen Barnes. Its most memorable feature is its chorus, in which the sung vowel sound “o” of “Gloria” is fluidly sustained through a lengthy rising and falling melismatic melodic sequence. This information is brought to you by our word of the day, melisma. Melisma is an Ancient Greek word meaning “song,” and is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic. The practice originated in both Gregorian chants and Indian ragas.
A quick online search names these as the three best-known melismatic songs:
- Angels We Have Heard on High (the “o” in the word “Gloria” is held over 16 notes in the refrain),
- For Unto Us a Child Is Born, from Handel’s Messiah (this features a 57-note melisma on the word “born”),
- I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston (this includes long vocal flourishes on the words “I” and “you” in the chorus).
Singers Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin brought melisma to a wider audience through their popular music. You might also think of the Christmas carol, Ding Dong Merrily on High, which includes melisma in its repeated refrain, “Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis.”
There’s something about the sustained “Gloria” that is, well, glorious! As we sing that, we proclaim God’s glory, we remember Jesus’ birth, we receive Christ’s salvation, we welcome the Spirit’s power, we anticipate God’s restoration.
Today, Angels We Have Heard on High consists of three or four stanzas and includes a repeated chorus, the Latin translation of Luke 2:14a – “Glory to God in the highest” – Gloria in excelsis Deo! In the lyrics we sing today, we can hear echoes of the original words, and, more importantly, echoes of what happened that night in the fields, a night that would change everything. It was the night of the birth of our Savior, the Messiah, the Lord!
But the story doesn’t stop there. The good news goes on. If we read a little further in the gospel of Luke, we discover what the shepherds did next. Luke 2:16-18 (NRSV) – “16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.”
The shepherds took off running to seek out this true King, Savior, Messiah, and Lord. As shepherds, they were familiar with every manger in town – it wouldn’t have taken them long to find the holy family. Then after they saw Jesus, “they made known what had been told them about this child,” which was “good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” And this child’s birth resulted in all of heaven praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” These humble shepherds first received the good news of Jesus, saw him with their own eyes, and now spread this good news to others.
What about us today? We aren’t looking at these Christmas Carols just to find out some nice, safe background stories. We have come and have heard the good news about “this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” Along with the shepherds, may we not just hear the good news of great joy, but may we also be willing to go and share this good news with neighbors and nations. God is sending us out to make known what we have been told about this same Jesus. Let us make ourselves ready to spread this good news to others in every way we can, in every arena of our lives. God has planted you where you are precisely so you can become a living participant in the good news of Jesus! The good news goes on!
Let’s close today by singing together Angels We Have Heard on High. Emmanuel has come! God is with us! Glory to God in the highest!
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!
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be?
Which inspire your heavenly song?
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
See Him in a manger laid
Whom the choirs of angels praise;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While our hearts in love we raise.
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
