During Advent, we try to group the seasonal hymns around a central theme which changes from week to week. The
past two Sundays have presented groups of hymns celebrating Jesus as the coming King and taking on human form as
a baby. This morning, the hymns will focus on the annunciation of Jesus’ birth by angels. The three verses of Charles
Wesley’s magnificent Hark! The Herald Angels Sing form the backbone of the service, occurring several times
throughout the morning. Some hymns will provide narratives: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen and Martin Luther’s
From Heaven On High recount the story of the angels appearing to shepherds in Luke 2, while The Angel Gabriel (a
carol from the Basque region of northern Spain) puts Gabriel’s message to Mary in Luke 1 into poetry. Two lesserknown
pieces, Gentle Mary Laid Her Child and Wake, Awake, For Night Is Flying mention angels in passing, referring
to a “choir immortal” singing about the Savior’s birth—in the hills near Bethlehem and around the throne of Heaven.
The service concludes with the beloved French carol Angels We Have Heard On High, in which we join the angels in
an ecstatic melisma of “Gloria in excelsis Deo.” —Henry C. Haffner
