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Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: From Wesley to Our Hymnals

At least four people brought the now-inviolable hymn to its current form.

Gordon Giles, excerpted from O Come Emmanuel: A Musical Tour of Daily Readings for Advent and Christmas. | posted 12/14/2007 08:32AM

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The tune we now call Mendelssohn comes from the second chorus, "Gott ist Light" ("God is Light"). While there can be no doubt that the marriage of Mendelssohn's tune and the adapted words has been most fortuitous, it is rather ironic that Mendelssohn, while recognizing the value of his tune, felt that it would be unsuitable for sacred words. Similarly, Wesley, when writing the original text, suggested that a slow, solemn tune would fit them best. He refused to sing Whitfield's reworking of his words, furious that he had presumed to alter them to suit his own ends. Nowadays, there would probably be an outcry if someone were to suggest even slight changes, and some attempts to "inclusivize" the language have been coolly received.

"Hark! the herald angels sing" has become part of the institution of Christmas, and while it contains inaccuracies, it also sounds out some wonderful theology, musically reminding us that Jesus, the "newborn King," is "Prince of Peace," "Sun of Righteousness," "Everlasting Lord," "Incarnate Deity," and, best of all, "Emmanuel" — "God with us." Whatever its creators would have thought about the hymn as it currently stands, it endures as a reminder of the great gift that our Father God has given us in his Son Jesus Christ, and which we will celebrate in only a few hours' time.

Related Elsewhere:

For more, go to our Christmas and Advent section.

Previous articles on hymns and music include:

Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs | Worship music engages the eyes, not just the ears and tongues. (May 30, 2007)

Truth, Christmas, and the Eucharist | Why I didn't like the hymns and praise songs we were singing—and why I was missing the point. (December 2005)

Cease-Fire in the Worship Wars | A dispatch from the Calvin Symposium on Worship and the Arts. (February 1, 2000)

Hallelujah! | On a memorable London night, the bright and glistening theology of Messiah broke through my jet-lagged consciousness. (Philip Yancey, December 1, 2000)

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December (Web-only) 2007, Vol. 51

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Rita	Posted: December 17, 2007 12:07 PM


I like O Holy Night. I can relate to the words "Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'til He appeared, and the soul felt its worth." Beautifully dramatic music, too.

Scott

Posted: December 17, 2007 10:23 AM


I'm curious as to why Whitfield is faulted for altering the lyric to read "Glory to the newborn King." Is there some question as to whether Christ should receive glory or whether Christ is a King or whether glory to Christ is anything other than glory to God? To lay this off on Whitefield's Calvinism is surely a mistake. In fact, to consider the change a liability to the hymn is altogether odd.

Lynn	Posted: December 15, 2007 11:56 PM


I love the song "O Holy Night". The words are phenomenal, when you think of the chorus alone, "Fall on your knees. O hear the angel voices", how can you not be in awe of the power and beauty of Christ's birth.

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