"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol to the hymn tune "Gloria" from a traditional French song of unknown origin called "Les Anges dans nos campagnes", with paraphrased English lyrics by James Chadwick. The song's subject is the birth of Jesus Christ as narrated in the Gospel of Luke, specifically the scene outside Bethlehem in which shepherds encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child.

Tune

"Angels We Have Heard on High" is generally sung to the hymn tune "Gloria", a traditional French carol as arranged by Edward Shippen Barnes. Its most memorable feature is its chorus, "Gloria in excelsis Deo", where the "o" of "Gloria" is fluidly sustained through 16 notes of a rising and falling melismatic melodic sequence. In England, the words of James Montgomery's "Angels from the Realms of Glory" are usually sung to this tune, with the "Gloria in excelsis Deo" refrain text replacing Montgomery's. It is from this usage that the tune sometimes is known as "Iris", the name of Montgomery's newspaper.

Lyrics

The lyrics of "Angels We Have Heard on High" are inspired by, but not an exact translation of, the traditional French carol known as "Les Anges dans nos campagnes" ("the angels in our countryside"), whose first known publication was in 1842. The music was attributed to "W. M.". According to some websites, the hymn is by the nineteenth-century Wilfrid Moreau from Poitiers. "Angels We Have Heard on High" is the most-common English version, an 1862 paraphrase by James Chadwick, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, northeast England. Chadwick's lyrics are original in some sections, including the title, and loosely translated from the French in other sections. The carol quickly became popular in the West Country, where it was described as "Cornish" by R. R. Chope, and featured in William Adair Pickard-Cambridge's Collection of Dorset Carols. It has since been translated into other languages, and is widely sung and published. Modern hymnals usually include three verses.

English

<poem style="margin-left:1em;">Angels we have heard on high Sweetly singing o'er the plains And the mountains in reply Echoing their joyous strains Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong? What the gladsome tidings be? Which inspire your heavenly songs? Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing; Come, adore on bended knee, Christ the Lord, the newborn King. See Him in a manger laid Whom the choirs of angels praise; Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, While our heart in love we raise.

French

<poem lang="fr" style="margin-left:1em;">Les anges dans nos campagnes Ont entonné l'hymne des cieux, Et l'écho de nos montagnes Redit ce chant mélodieux Bergers, pour qui cette fête? Quel est l'objet de tous ces chants? Quel vainqueur, quelle conquête Mérite ces cris triomphants? Ils annoncent la naissance Du libérateur d'Israël Et pleins de reconnaissance Chantent en ce jour solennel

German

In 1951, Lieselotte Holzmeister (1921–1994) translation „Engel haben Himmelslieder“ (Angels Have Heavenly Songs) was the first transmission in German-speaking countries. Another German text version comes from Otto Abel (1905–1977); „Hört der Engel helle Lieder“ (Hear the angels' bright songs). It was created in 1954 and was included in the german evangelical hymn book (EG 54); The chorus is accompanied by a movement for three equal voices by Theophil Rothenberg. Also in 1954, Maria Luise Thurmair wrote "Engel auf den Feldern singen" (Angels sing in the fields). The same melody was used by Diethard Zils for a hymn for Epiphany, "Seht ihr unsern Stern dort stehen" (Do your see our star). Both hymns are part of the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob. The austrian composer Cesar Bresgen (1913–1988) created two other arrangements. Johannes Haas (1931–2004) created „Engel bringen frohe Kunde“ (Angels Bring Good News”). A translation by the evangelist Manfred Paul (1938–2020) appeared in 1972 under the title „Friede, Freude hier auf Erden“ (Peace, Joy here on Earth). Rolf Zuckowski (*1947) published his text version „Hört ihr, wie die Engel singen“ (Hear how the angels sing) in 1987.