The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came
- Metre
- 10.10.12.10
- Copyright
- Public domain
Lyrics
The Angel Gabriel from heaven came,
his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
'All hail', said he, 'thou lowly maiden Mary,
most highly favoured lady.'
Gloria!
'For known a blessèd mother thou shalt be,
all generations laud and honour thee,
thy son shall be Immanuel, by seers foretold;
most highly favoured lady.'
Gloria!
Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,
'To me be as it pleaseth God', she said,
'My soul shall laud and magnify his holy name':
most highly favoured lady.
Gloria!
Of her, Immanuel, the Christ was born
in Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn,
and Christian folk throughout the world will ever say,
'Most highly favoured lady.'
Gloria!
History
This Annunciation carol is Sabine Baring-Gould's English version of the Basque carol 'Birjina gaztettobat zegoen'. The Basque carol was collected by the French musician Charles Bordes, whose study Archives de la tradition basque was published in 1897, and Wikipedia gives 1922 as the date Baring-Gould's English paraphrase was published, noting that he had spent a winter in the Basque country as a boy. Its four verses tell the story of Luke's Gospel: the angel's greeting to 'thou lowly maiden Mary', Mary's answer 'To me be as it pleaseth God', and the birth of Christ 'in Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn', each verse closing on 'most highly favoured lady' and a single 'Gloria!'. Hymnary.org most often lists the text with the Basque melody GABRIEL'S MESSAGE.
Sabine Baring-Gould was born at Exeter on 28 January 1834 and educated at Clare College, Cambridge. He took holy orders in 1864, served as curate of Horbury near Wakefield and later as rector of East Mersea in Essex, and in 1881 became rector of Lew Trenchard in Devon, where he was squire as well as parson. A prolific writer, he produced the many-volume Lives of the Saints, and his hymns include 'Onward, Christian soldiers' and 'Now the day is over'. He died at Lew Trenchard on 2 January 1924. Charles Bordes, born in 1863, was choirmaster at the church of Saint-Gervais in Paris and, with Vincent d'Indy and Alexandre Guilmant, founded the Schola Cantorum in 1896.
Performance
This recording by St Martin's Voices runs to a little under three minutes, with four verses, each ending 'Gloria!'.
Sources: hymnary.org · en.wikipedia.org · St Martin's Voices recording and Words book
About St Martin's Voices
The recording on this page is sung by St Martin's Voices, the professional vocal ensemble based at St Martin-in-the-Fields, the church on Trafalgar Square in London. One of the UK's most versatile professional choirs, they sing for services, concerts and broadcasts — including on BBC radio and Classic FM — and have released a number of acclaimed recordings.
Their hymn recordings are made freely available to Anglican parishes through the Church of England's A Church Near You Resource Hub, produced by Andrew Earis, Director of Music at St Martin-in-the-Fields, in collaboration with the Royal School of Church Music.