Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Your Art History Reference Guide!

ArtHistoryClub Information Site on Hark! The Herald Angels Sing Art History Art History Search        Art History Browse welcome to our free resource site for all art history lovers!
Art History Search        Art History Browse             News        Gallery        Forums        Articles        Weblinks        welcome to our free resource site for all art history lovers!

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is a Christmas hymn or carol written by Charles Wesley, the brother of John Wesley. It appeared in Hymns and Sacred Poems in 1739. The original opening line was "Hark! how all the welkin rings"; the version known today is the result of alterations by various hands.

The tune that is now used was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840, as part of the cantata Festgesang ("Festival Song") honoring printer Johann Gutenberg and commemorating the invention of his printing press. The cantata was presented at the great festival held at Leipzig. Festgesang's second chorus, "Gott ist Licht" ("God is Light"), was adapted in 1855 by William Hayman Cummings.

The most popular arrangement of the Mendelssohn tune for "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is probably that by David Willcocks (published 1961) which adds a descant for the third verse.

Last updated: 05-31-2005 23:44:41
Last updated: 01-04-2007 01:18:57
The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the
GNU Free Documentation License. See original document.
Art History Search | Art History Browse | Contact | Legal info