Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Last week we looked at the life of composer Felix Mendelssohn and his contributions not only to music but church music as well. We saw that the tune for "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" was from Mendelssohn's own repertoire. But how the tune came to be married to the carol is another story. And on top of this story is the story of how we got "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."

"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" was written by Charles Wesley in 1737. Originally he called it "Hark, how all the welkin rings, Glory to the King of Kings!" Welkin is an old English word that means "heaven," "sky," or "the vaults of heaven."

The words we have today came from George Whitefield, an old college friend of Wesley's. Friendship, however, has its limits. Wesley did not like the change in lyrics. It was his contention that the Scriptures do not speak of angels singing in Luke's account (although the King James Version does have "a multitude of the heavenly host," unless Wesley believed there were more entities than angels in that heavenly choir). The carol hymn was popular before; it became even more popular with the change. Wesley steadfastly refused to sing the new words, although that's fair. He did write the carol hymn, afterall.

But Mendelssohn's tune still wasn't part of the "Hark!" hymn. I haven't found anyone anywhere who knows what the actual tune (or tunes) originally sang with this hymn were. Whatever tune or tunes were used became lost in the mists of history as Mendelssohn's tune became the popular tune fixed in the public's mind.

The tune used, named "Mendelssohn," was not originally intended for any Christmas carol or hymn, much less this one. In fact it wasn't intended for church use. In 1855 William Cummings took Mendelssohn's "Festgesang an die Knustler" and matched it up with Whitefield's words. "Festgesang" was a tribute to Johann Gutenberg and his invention of the movable type printing press. Today this combination is considered a Christmas classic and featured in almost all hymnals and a majority of Christmas albums.

George Whitefield's words

Charles Wesley's words

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!"

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