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=                    Angels We Have Heard on High                    =
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                             Introduction                             
======================================================================
"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol to the hymn tune
"Gloria" from a traditional French song of unknown origin called "",
with paraphrased English lyrics by James Chadwick. The song's subject
is the birth of Jesus Christ as narrated in the Gospel of Luke,
specifically the scene outside Bethlehem in which shepherds encounter
a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child.


                                 Tune                                 
======================================================================
"Angels We Have Heard on High" is generally sung to the hymn tune
"Gloria", a traditional French carol as arranged by Edward Shippen
Barnes. Its most memorable feature is its chorus, "Gloria in excelsis
Deo", where the "o" of "Gloria" is fluidly sustained through 16 notes
of a rising and falling melismatic melodic sequence.

In England, the words of James Montgomery's "Angels from the Realms of
Glory" are usually sung to this tune, with the "Gloria in excelsis
Deo" refrain text replacing Montgomery's. It is from this usage that
the tune sometimes is known as "Iris", the name of Montgomery's
newspaper.

\header { tagline = ##f arranger = "arr.: James Chadwick" }
\layout { indent = 0 \context { \Score \remove "Bar_number_engraver" }
}
global = { \key f \major \time 4/4 }

verse = \lyricmode {
An -- gels we have heard on high
Sweet -- ly sing -- ing o'er the plains,
\repeat volta 2 { Glo -- ri -- a in ex -- cel -- sis } \alternative
{ { De -- o! } { De -- o! } }
}
verseR = \lyricmode {
And the moun -- tains in re -- ply
E -- cho -- ing their joy -- ous strains.
}
soprano = \relative c' { \global \set midiInstrument = "flute"
\voiceOne
\repeat volta 2 { a4 a a c | c4. bes8 a2
a4 g a c | a4. g8 f2 | }
\repeat volta 2 { c'2 (d8 c bes a |bes2 c8 bes a g | a2 bes8 a g f |
g4.) c,8 c2 |
f4 g a bes | } \alternative { { a2 g | } { a2 (g) | f1 \bar "|." }
}
}

alto = \relative c' { \global \set midiInstrument = "flute" \voiceTwo
\repeat volta 2 { \stemUp f4 f e e | \stemDown g e f2 |
\stemUp f4 e f f | \stemDown f e f2 | }
\repeat volta 2 { f4 (a8 g f2~ | f4 g8 f e2~ | e4 f8 e d2 | c4.) c8
c2 |
\stemUp c4 e f g | } \alternative { { f2 e | } { f2 (e) | c1 \bar
"|." } }
}

tenor = \relative c' { \global \set midiInstrument = "clarinet"
\repeat volta 2 { c4 c c c | d c c2 |
c4 c c c | c4. bes8 a2 | }
\repeat volta 2 { a2 (d~ | d c~ | c bes | g4) f e2 |
f4 c' c d | } \alternative { { c2 c } { c2. (bes4) | a1 \bar "|."
} }
}

bass = \relative c { \global \set midiInstrument = "clarinet"
\repeat volta 2 { f4 f a a | d, e f2 |
f4 c f a,8 bes | c4 c a2 | }
\repeat volta 2 { f'2 (d4 f | g2 c,4 e | f2 bes,4 d | e) d c (bes) |
a c f bes, | } \alternative { { c2 c } { c1 | f1 \bar "|." } }
}

\score {
\new ChoirStaff <<
\new Staff
<<
\new Voice \soprano
\addlyrics \verse
\addlyrics \verseR
\alto
>>
\new Staff
<<
\clef bass
\partCombine \tenor \bass
>>
>>
\layout { }
}
\score { \unfoldRepeats { << \soprano \\ \alto \\ \tenor \\
\bass >> }
\midi { \tempo 4=120
\context { \Staff \remove "Staff_performer" }
\context { \Voice \consists "Staff_performer" }
}
}


                                Lyrics                                
======================================================================
The lyrics of "Angels We Have Heard on High" are inspired by, but not
an exact translation of, the traditional French carol known as ""
("the angels in our countryside"), whose first known publication was
in 1842. The music was attributed to "W. M.". According to some
websites, the hymn is by the nineteenth-century Wilfrid Moreau from
Poitiers. "Angels We Have Heard on High" is the most-common English
version, an 1862 paraphrase by James Chadwick, the Roman Catholic
Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, northeast England. 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, where it was described as "Cornish" by R.
R. Chope, and featured in William Adair Pickard-Cambridge's
'Collection of Dorset Carols'. It has since been translated into other
languages, and is widely sung and published. Modern hymnals usually
include three verses.


 English 
=========
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! :|

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be?
Which inspire your heavenly songs?
|: 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! :|

See Him in a manger laid
Whom the choirs of angels praise;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While our heart in love we raise.
|: Gloria in excelsis Deo! :|


 French 
========
Les anges dans nos campagnes
Ont entonné l'hymne des cieux,
Et l'écho de nos montagnes
Redit ce chant mélodieux
|: Gloria in excelsis Deo! :|

Bergers, pour qui cette fête?
Quel est l'objet de tous ces chants?
Quel vainqueur, quelle conquête
Mérite ces cris triomphants?
|: Gloria in excelsis Deo! :|

Ils annoncent la naissance
Du libérateur d'Israël
Et pleins de reconnaissance
Chantent en ce jour solennel
|: Gloria in excelsis Deo! :|


 German 
========
In 1951, Lieselotte Holzmeister (1921-1994) translation „Engel haben
Himmelslieder“ (Angels Have Heavenly Songs) was the first transmission
in German-speaking countries. Another German text version comes from
Otto Abel (1905-1977); „Hört der Engel helle Lieder“ (Hear the angels'
bright songs). It was created in 1954 and was included in the german
evangelical hymn book (EG 54); The chorus is accompanied by a movement
for three equal voices by Theophil Rothenberg. Also in 1954, Maria
Luise Thurmair wrote "Engel auf den Feldern singen" (Angels sing in
the fields). The same melody was used by Diethard Zils for a hymn for
Epiphany, "Seht ihr unsern Stern dort stehen" (Do your see our star).
Both hymns are part of the Catholic hymnal 'Gotteslob'. The austrian
composer Cesar Bresgen (1913-1988) created two other arrangements.
Johannes Haas (1931-2004) created „Engel bringen frohe Kunde“ (Angels
Bring Good News”). A translation by the evangelist Manfred Paul
(1938-2020) appeared in 1972 under the title „Friede, Freude hier auf
Erden“ (Peace, Joy here on Earth). Rolf Zuckowski (*1947) published
his text version „Hört ihr, wie die Engel singen“ (Hear how the angels
sing) in 1987.


                               See also                               
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*"Ding Dong Merrily on High" - similar 'Gloria' refrain
* List of Christmas carols


                            External links                            
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*
*
*
[https://books.google.com/books?id=rAVRlIP6NgAC&pg=PA39&lpg=PA42
"Hört, der Engel helle Lieder"] (in German), in 'Liederkunde zum
Evangelischen Gesangbuch', no. 12, pp. 39-42. Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht, 2000 ()
*  (François-Auguste Gevaert)
*


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=========
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/_Angels_We_Have_Heard_on_High