Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Lyrics

Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th'angelic host proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Refrain
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ, by highest heav'n adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord:
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail th'incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Refrain

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris'n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die;
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Refrain

History

Charles Wesley wrote this hymn within a year of his 1738 conversion experience, when the inspiration of his newfound faith remained fresh. Born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, in 1707, Wesley was an Anglican priest who became one of Methodism's founders alongside his brother John. He composed over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime, though he remained firmly committed to the Church of England until his death in 1788, insisting on burial in the churchyard of St. Marylebone Parish Church rather than in the Methodist burial ground.

The hymn first appeared in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1739) under the title "Hymn for Christmas-Day," written in ten four-line stanzas beginning "Hark how all the welkin rings / Glory to the King of Kings." Wesley intended the text to be sung to the tune SALISBURY, which Methodists had used in their Collection of Tunes (1742). The original version contained dense theological content, exploring the incarnation and atonement through multiple stanzas.

George Whitefield, Wesley's fellow Oxford Methodist and Anglican evangelist, revised the opening line to "Hark! the herald angels sing" in his 1753 Collection of Hymns for Social Worship. Whitefield recognized that "welkin" (an archaic term for the heavens) would prove difficult for congregations to understand and sing. Martin Madan further revised the text in 1760, and by 1782 the first two lines were repeated as a refrain. The hymn appeared in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861) and has remained in virtually every Anglican hymnal since.

Sources: Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology; Hymnary.org - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Hymnology Archive - Hark how all the welkin rings; Wikipedia - Charles Wesley

Performance

The tune MENDELSSOHN comes from the second movement of Felix Mendelssohn's Festgesang (WoO 9), composed in 1840 for the 400th anniversary of Johannes Gutenberg's invention of movable type printing. The cantata, written for male voices and brass, premiered on June 24, 1840, in Leipzig's market square. Mendelssohn himself expressed reservations about using this tune for sacred texts, reportedly telling his English publisher that "it will never do to sacred words," believing the melody too spirited for solemn hymns.

William Hayman Cummings (1831-1915), English tenor and organist at Waltham Abbey, adapted the tune to Wesley's text in 1855. Cummings had sung as a chorister when Mendelssohn conducted the first London performance of Elijah at Exeter Hall in 1847, developing a lasting appreciation for the composer's work. Recognizing that Wesley's hymn needed a more vigorous tune than those previously used, Cummings arranged Mendelssohn's melody for congregational singing. The pairing proved immediately popular and was adopted by Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861), securing its place in Anglican worship.

The tune's triumphant, celebratory character matches Wesley's text perfectly, despite Mendelssohn's concerns. The melody's range and rhythmic energy require confident congregational singing. In Anglican tradition, the hymn frequently includes a soprano descant for the final stanza, famously arranged by David Willcocks and published in Carols for Choirs (1961). It serves as the recessional hymn for the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge. The tune should be sung at a moderate tempo (around ♩= 108-116), maintaining energy without rushing. Organ registration should be bright and festive, with full organ on the final verse. The hymn works well at any point during Christmas services, from Advent 4 through Epiphany.

Sources: Wikipedia - Festgesang; Wikipedia - William Hayman Cummings; Hymnary.org - William Hayman Cummings; Pepperdine Libraries - Hymns of the Season