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Angels We Have Heard on High


"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol with the
lyrics written by 
James ChadwickBishop of Hexham and Newcastle, to the music from a French song called Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes. The music is the
same as the original song, though Chadwick's lyrics albeit unique and original
are clearly derived and inspired, and in parts a loose translation. The song's
subject is the 
birth of Jesus Christ narrated in
the 
Gospel of Luke, specifically the scene in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child.


Lyrics written for Les
Anges dans nos campagnes

The
lyrics of "Angels We Have Heard on High" are inspired by, but not a
direct translation of, the French carol
known as Les Anges dans nos campagnes (literally "the
angels in our countryside") composed by Francois-Auguste
Gevaert
.  in Languedoc, France, though they are clearly
inspired by that song, and broadly follow the same storyline. The French song
has received many adjustments or alignments including "Angels We Have
Heard On High" – its most common English version – written in 1862
by James Chadwick,
the Roman Catholic Bishop of
Hexham and Newcastle
, northeast England. The carol quickly became
popular in the West Country, where
it was described as "Cornish" by R.R. Chope, and featured in Pickard-Cambridge's Collection of Dorset
Carols.
Chadwick's
lyrics differ from the original French version, including a new song title, and
are deemed an original work attributable solely to him. Chadwick did not
directly translate the lyrics but wrote a new set of lyrics that closely
followed the story theme of the original French song.
The
lyrics of "Angels We Have Heard on High" were written to fit with the
music of Les Anges dans nos campagnes. Chadwick's lyrics are
clearly inspired but are not a direct translation of the song, though there are
similarities. It is considered a derivative work, although Chadwick's lyrics
are considered original under copyright laws and entirely his, despite the fact
that they are recognized as a "derivative work". The lyrics are
completely unique in sections, but loosely translated in other sections from
the original French song.

Tunes

"Angels
We Have Heard on High" is most commonly sung to the hymn tune "Gloria", as arranged
by Edward Shippen Barnes.
Its most memorable feature is its chorus:
Gloria in Excelsis
Deo
!
 (Latin for
"Glory to God in the highest")
Where
the sung vowel sound "o" of "Gloria" is fluidly sustained
through a lengthy rising and falling melismatic melodic sequence. "Gloria
in Excelsis Deo" is the first line of the song of the angels in the Gospel
according to Luke in Latin.
In
England, the words of James Montgomery's "Angels from
the Realms of Glory
" are sung to this tune, except with the
"Gloria in excelsis Deo" refrain. It is from this usage that
the tune sometimes is known as Iris, the name of Montgomery's newspaper.

Lyrics

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!


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!


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,


Jesus, Lord of
heaven and earth;


Mary, Joseph,
lend your aid,


With us sing
our Saviour's birth.


Gloria, in
excelsis Deo!


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 (Bis)
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 (Bis)
Ils annoncent la naissance
Du libérateur d'Israël
Et pleins de reconnaissance
Chantent en ce jour solennel
Gloria in excelsis Deo (Bis)
Cherchons tous l'heureux village
Qui l'a vu naître sous ses toits
Offrons-lui le tendre hommage
Et de nos cœurs et de nos voix
Gloria in excelsis Deo (Bis)


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!

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!

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!


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