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ancientandmodernThe 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 know a blessèd mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honour thee,
Thy Son shall be Emmanuel, 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, Emmanuel, 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!
Hands up who was singing, 'Most highly flavoured gravy?' I thought so.
But never mind all that. This paraphrase of Luke 1. 26-38 (and 48) manages to be both concise and vivid, telling the story in a very few words and presenting perhaps the most impressive word-portrait of anyone in hymnody. I am always drawn to the hymns that rely on exciting images, and Sabine Baring-Gould's picture of Gabriel here beats anything you'll see on a Christmas card. I do feel that he rather overplays Mary's meekness, in a way that would be difficult to sustain were he to quote any more of the Magnificat, but that's Victorians for you.
This carol originates in the Basque Birjina gaztetto bat zegoen, collected by Charles Bordes, a French organist, before Baring-Gould wrote the English paraphrase and Edgar Pettman came up with the most well-known arrangement.
Here are some others:
Sting
All Angels
What I couldn't find, rather to my surprise, is a video of this by a parish choir and/or congregation. It seems odd - this is a popular hymn, and deservedly so!
His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
“All hail,” said he, “thou lowly maiden Mary,
Most highly favoured lady,” Gloria!
“For know a blessèd mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honour thee,
Thy Son shall be Emmanuel, 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, Emmanuel, 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!
Hands up who was singing, 'Most highly flavoured gravy?' I thought so.
But never mind all that. This paraphrase of Luke 1. 26-38 (and 48) manages to be both concise and vivid, telling the story in a very few words and presenting perhaps the most impressive word-portrait of anyone in hymnody. I am always drawn to the hymns that rely on exciting images, and Sabine Baring-Gould's picture of Gabriel here beats anything you'll see on a Christmas card. I do feel that he rather overplays Mary's meekness, in a way that would be difficult to sustain were he to quote any more of the Magnificat, but that's Victorians for you.
This carol originates in the Basque Birjina gaztetto bat zegoen, collected by Charles Bordes, a French organist, before Baring-Gould wrote the English paraphrase and Edgar Pettman came up with the most well-known arrangement.
Here are some others:
Sting
All Angels
What I couldn't find, rather to my surprise, is a video of this by a parish choir and/or congregation. It seems odd - this is a popular hymn, and deservedly so!