The Unlikely History of ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’

"The Adoration of the Shepherds," by Bronzino, features angels on high. Public Domain

Christmas carols were not always as beloved as they are now. After Oliver Cromwell overthrew King Charles I and came to power, and he outlawed Christmas celebrations in 1647, considering it a pagan activity. This included the singing of Christmas carols.

Although the ban was lifted upon the restoration of Charles II, English churches continued to exclude singing carols from religious services. At the end of the 18th century, only two carols were officially approved by the Church of England. The first was Nahum Tate’s “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks,” which was allowed because it paraphrased the Gospel of Luke’s account of the nativity. The second was “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”

While the first carol may not be widely recognizable, the second is world-famous. Rightfully so, since there are two famous names attached to its performance today: Charles Wesley and Felix Mendelssohn. At the time “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” began to be sung in churches, however, Mendelssohn had not even been born yet. Wesley’s original lyrics were also modified multiple times before solidifying into the song we know today. How did this come about?

Charles Wesley. Public Domain

Charles Wesley’s Lyrics

Hark how all the Welkin rings “Glory to the King of Kings, “Peace on Earth, and Mercy mild, “God and Sinners reconcil'd!

Joyful all ye Nations rise, Join the Triumph of the Skies, Universal Nature say “Christ, the Lord, is born To day. 

The hymn is familiar, even if not all the words are recognizable (“welkin” is an archaic term for “heavens” or “sky”). These lyrics were written by Wesley, whose brother, John, founded of the Methodist denomination that now claims millions of adherents worldwide.

Wesley converted to Christianity on May 21, 1738. A gifted poet, he was inspired to write his very first hymn that same day. He went on to write thousands more, many of which are still sung today. Not all of these were solemn religious songs. Wesley had a playful spirit, and one of his poems celebrates his beloved pet cat:

I sing Grimalkin brave and bold Who makes intruders fly His claws and whiskers they behold And squall and scamper by.

It was the year after his conversion, though, that he would write the words to what would become his most well-known song. He originally titled it “Hymn for Christmas-day,” included in “Hymns and Sacred Poems,” c0-published with his brother John in London in 1739.

Fourteen years after the hymn’s composition, a preacher and Wesley’s friend George Whitefield modified the lyrics. Most significantly, he changed the first line from “Hark how all the welkin rings” to the one we know today: “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” It was this version that was anthologized in hymn books.

In addition to the changes in the first two stanzas, the last couplet of the fourth stanza was also changed. The now familiar “Pleased as man with man to dwell,/  Jesus our Immanuel,” was originally “Pleas’d as Man with Men t’ appear,/ Jesus, our Immanuel here!”

A further alteration was made when the original 10 four-line stanzas were grouped into four eight-line stanzas. Eight lines from Wesley’s original hymn were cut entirely from the current version:

From the eighth stanza:

Now display thy saving Pow'r,  Ruin'd Nature now restore, Now in mystic union join Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

From the last stanza:

Let us Thee, tho’ lost, regain, Thee, the Life, the Inner Man: O! to all thyself impart, Form'd in each Believing Heart.

Mendelssohn’s Melody

Portrait of Felix Mendelssohn, 1846, by the German painter Eduard Magnus. Berlin State Library. Public Domain

Felix Mendelssohn was one of the greatest composers of the 19th century. The story of how one of his melodies became associated with a famous hymn, however, is far from obvious.

Originally, the text to Wesley’s hymn was sung to a variety of tunes. This was a common practice of the time, when lyrics would often be paired with different melodies based on the preferences of choirs and congregations.

Then in 1855, an English musician named William Cummings (1831–1915) came across a secular cantata composed by Mendelssohn. The “Festgesang,” or “Gutenberg Cantata,” was written to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the invention of the printing press. Cummings liked a melody in the second movement that begins with the line “Vaterland, in deinen Gauen” (“Fatherland, in your shires”), written to evoke a sense of pride for the homeland of the printing press’s inventor, Johannes Gutenberg.

Although Mendelssohn himself had specified that this music was appropriate only to a secular context, not a sacred one, Cummings was either unaware of this or simply did not care. He thought the music went perfectly with Wesley’s hymn, so he arranged Mendelssohn’s melody and published it in 1856. The fruit of this “collaboration” caught on. Over the next several decades this version was reprinted in numerous other hymnbooks.

Explosive Popularity

In 1885, Rev. James King surveyed 52 hymn books and found that “Hark!” was tied with three other songs for the status of the most frequently anthologized hymn. (One other was also written by Wesley: “Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending.”)

Fast forward to today, and this number has multiplied drastically. According to Hymnary.org, “Hark” has been published in 1,334 hymnals to date.

Its influence extends beyond churches as well. Nearly every pop singer seems to have a cover of it, from Carrie Underwood to Mariah Carey.

Anyone inclined to re-listen to it for the hundredth time can sample the more than 600 recordings listed on Spotify. Or it can be heard in numerous holiday films, whether playing in the background or incorporated into a poignant scene during that ultimate Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946).

Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, and Karolyn Grimes in "It's a Wonderful Life." In this scene, the cast sings "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." Public Domain

From the theological wisdom of its lyrics to its jubilant melody, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is a collaboration centuries in the making that will continue to inspire for centuries to come.

What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to [email protected]