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Authors: Mark Lawson-Jones
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time. He discouraged the Church from being active, so that it would not prove troublesome to the Government.
The Church had entered a period of inaction and neglect. Daily services were discontinued in many places and the poor weren’t cared for. Even though the Church remained popular amongst the people, the clergy were considered lazy and were held in contempt. Promotion was dependent on political affiliation and the church was ignored by the state that considered the churches only role to be to support the Government.
The story of this hymn is the soundtrack to the mission of John and Charles Wesley to reinvigorate the Church. Just as John’s preaching would awaken much religious feeling, especially among the lower classes, the words of Charles’ hymns would encourage people. As ‘Methodism’ spread, Charles wished to remain within the broad structures of the Anglican Church; he had never intended his work to be separate.
Even though Wesley had been reinvigorated with evangelical fervour, he was known as a sombre man, who would request slow and reflective musical compositions for his work. ‘Hark the Herald’ would have been sung to a completely different tune than the one we know and love today, probably the tune to ‘Christ the Lord is Risen Today’, another hymn written by him.
The most familiar tune for this hymn since the mid-nineteenth century is called Festgesang, composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840 as a cantata to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press. Sixty-seven years after the death of Charles Wesley in 1855 the English musician William Cummings made changes so that it would fit the words of the hymn. Mendelssohn would have been as shocked as Wesley at the use of his music, the composer once said the music would ‘never work with sacred tunes’.
Mendelshohn’s setting to ‘Hark! the Herald Angels Sing’.
Some carols and songs enjoy popularity for a time and then disappear from common use, however it’s fair to say that ‘Hark the Herald’ has always enjoyed significant popularity and is sung widely still. In his Anglican Hymnody , published in 1885, the Revd James King examined fifty-two hymnbooks in use throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion and found ‘The Great Four’ hymns that appeared at least fifty-one times. They were:
1. All Praise to thee, my God this night (Thomas Ken)
2. Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Charles Wesley)
3. Lo, He comes with clouds descending (Charles Wesley)
4. Rock of Ages cleft for me (Augustus Montague Toplady)
In 2006, a survey for a radio station found that the carol is still popular, ranking third in a poll of 37,000 people. Their 2001 survey put the carol at sixth place. Classic FM (2006)
In churches, the hymn is sung at the end of Christmas services and continues to be loved by many.
8
O Come All Ye Faithful
O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him,
Born the King of angels;
Refrain
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
God of God,
Light of Light,
Lo! He abhors not the Virgin’s womb:
Very God,
Begotten, not created.
Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;
Glory to God
In the highest.
Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be glory given;
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing; Refrain
Many Christmas carols and songs were written in times of great struggles, political, economic or military. They often tell more than the incidents surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago, giving us a picture of the concerns of people who lived hundreds of years ago. Some carols are written in the hope that they will encourage people to solve the problems of the present, they are also a rallying call to the likeminded to stand up and be counted.
St
The Church had entered a period of inaction and neglect. Daily services were discontinued in many places and the poor weren’t cared for. Even though the Church remained popular amongst the people, the clergy were considered lazy and were held in contempt. Promotion was dependent on political affiliation and the church was ignored by the state that considered the churches only role to be to support the Government.
The story of this hymn is the soundtrack to the mission of John and Charles Wesley to reinvigorate the Church. Just as John’s preaching would awaken much religious feeling, especially among the lower classes, the words of Charles’ hymns would encourage people. As ‘Methodism’ spread, Charles wished to remain within the broad structures of the Anglican Church; he had never intended his work to be separate.
Even though Wesley had been reinvigorated with evangelical fervour, he was known as a sombre man, who would request slow and reflective musical compositions for his work. ‘Hark the Herald’ would have been sung to a completely different tune than the one we know and love today, probably the tune to ‘Christ the Lord is Risen Today’, another hymn written by him.
The most familiar tune for this hymn since the mid-nineteenth century is called Festgesang, composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840 as a cantata to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press. Sixty-seven years after the death of Charles Wesley in 1855 the English musician William Cummings made changes so that it would fit the words of the hymn. Mendelssohn would have been as shocked as Wesley at the use of his music, the composer once said the music would ‘never work with sacred tunes’.
Mendelshohn’s setting to ‘Hark! the Herald Angels Sing’.
Some carols and songs enjoy popularity for a time and then disappear from common use, however it’s fair to say that ‘Hark the Herald’ has always enjoyed significant popularity and is sung widely still. In his Anglican Hymnody , published in 1885, the Revd James King examined fifty-two hymnbooks in use throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion and found ‘The Great Four’ hymns that appeared at least fifty-one times. They were:
1. All Praise to thee, my God this night (Thomas Ken)
2. Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Charles Wesley)
3. Lo, He comes with clouds descending (Charles Wesley)
4. Rock of Ages cleft for me (Augustus Montague Toplady)
In 2006, a survey for a radio station found that the carol is still popular, ranking third in a poll of 37,000 people. Their 2001 survey put the carol at sixth place. Classic FM (2006)
In churches, the hymn is sung at the end of Christmas services and continues to be loved by many.
8
O Come All Ye Faithful
O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him,
Born the King of angels;
Refrain
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
God of God,
Light of Light,
Lo! He abhors not the Virgin’s womb:
Very God,
Begotten, not created.
Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;
Glory to God
In the highest.
Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be glory given;
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing; Refrain
Many Christmas carols and songs were written in times of great struggles, political, economic or military. They often tell more than the incidents surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago, giving us a picture of the concerns of people who lived hundreds of years ago. Some carols are written in the hope that they will encourage people to solve the problems of the present, they are also a rallying call to the likeminded to stand up and be counted.
St
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