{"id":983,"date":"2009-12-23T03:01:50","date_gmt":"2009-12-23T03:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/12\/hark-the-herald-angels-sing-the-carol-that-shouldnt-exist-part-1.html"},"modified":"2009-12-23T03:01:50","modified_gmt":"2009-12-23T03:01:50","slug":"hark-the-herald-angels-sing-the-carol-that-shouldnt-exist-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/12\/hark-the-herald-angels-sing-the-carol-that-shouldnt-exist-part-1.html","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHark! The Herald Angels Sing\u201d \u2013 The Carol That Shouldn\u2019t Exist, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 2 of series: Christmas Carol Inspiration<\/em>
\nPermalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\n\u201cHark! The Herald Angels Sing\u201d is surely one of the most popular and beloved of Christmas carols. Each year, it is sung in thousands upon thousands of churches at Christmastime, not to mention being played in countless stores across the world, beginning usually sometime in November. \u201cHark! The Herald Angels Sing\u201d has been recorded in dozens of versions by many vocalists, including: Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Carrie Underwood, and Mariah Carey. Perhaps the most familiar version of this carol comes in the closing moments of the cartoon classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas<\/em>, with its opening \u201cLoo-loo-loos\u201d and the orange-slice-shaped mouths of the singing children.
\nBut \u201cHark! The Herald Angels Sing\u201d should never have come into existence, at least if its writer and composer had anything to say about it.
\nYou wouldn\u2019t discover this if you looked up this carol in a hymnal or songbook. There, the writer is identified as \u201cCharles Wesley, 1739, alt.\u201d 1739 is the date in which the lyrics were written. \u201cAlt\u201d means that the original words have been altered. The music for \u201cHark! The Herald Angels Sing\u201d is attributed to Felix Mendelssohn, 1840, with arrangement by William Cummings, 1855. From this data you would conclude that the carol was written in 1739 by Wesley. In 1855, William Cummings used a melody of Mendelssohn, arranging it into the familiar tune we know today. All of this would be true, in a way. But this story misses the ironic drama of the origin of \u201cHark! The Herald Angels Sing.\u201d
\nThe Story Behind the Lyrics<\/strong>
\nIn 1739, John and Charles Wesley published Hymns and Sacred Poems<\/em>, which included Charles\u2019 \u201cHymn for Christmas-Day.\u201d This hymn featured familiar lines such as: \u201cPeace on Earth, and Mercy, mild, GOD and Sinners reconcil\u2019d! Joyful all ye Nations rise, Join the Triumph of the Skies.\u201d But it did not begin with the familiar opening line, \u201cHark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King.\u201d In fact, the original Wesley carol began, \u201cHARK how all the Welkin rings, Glory to the King of Kings.\u201d No herald angels to be found here! (Photo: A page from Hymns and Sacred Poems, including \u201cHymn for Christmas-Day\u201d with its \u201cwelkin.\u201d Photo from Hymns and Carols of Christmas<\/a><\/em>.)
\nIf you\u2019re like me, you haven\u2019t used the word \u201cwelkin\u201d recently. It appears eighteen times in Shakespeare\u2019s plays, but hasn\u2019t received a lot of play in the last couple of centuries. \u201cWelkin\u201d is a word for the vault of heaven, the place where stars and angels dwell. Charles Wesley began his hymn for Christmas with the heavens ringing with the glory of the King of kings. The rest of the original carol<\/a> is similar to the one we sing today, with the exception of the ninth and tenth verses, which were deleted by some eighteenth- or nineteenth-century editor. These verses read:<\/p>\n

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
\nStamp thy Image in its Place,
\nSecond Adam from above,
\nReinstate us in thy Love.
\nLet us Thee, tho’ lost, regain,
\nThee, the Life, the Heav’nly Man:
\nO ! to All Thyself impart,
\nForm’d in each Believing Heart.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The one who omitted these verses, and, more importantly, the one who changed \u201cwelkin\u201d to \u201cangels,\u201d was none other than the eighteenth-century evangelist and good friend of Charles Wesley, George Whitefield. Sensing the obscurity of \u201cwelkin,\u201d Whitefield changed the Christmas hymn to read, \u201cHark the Herald Angels sing, Glory to the new-born King!\u201d Whitefield went on to publish his version of the hymn, which, apparently, distressed his friend Charles Wesley, who resented, among other things, the unbiblical picture of angels singing. In Luke 2, the angels are \u201csaying, \u201c not singing, \u201cGlory to God in the highest . . . .\u201d Other editors added to Whitefield\u2019s changes, so that the carol we know today differs from Wesley\u2019s original in several respects. (For more information, see Raymond F. Glover, The Hymnal 1982 Companion<\/em>, #87.)
\nThe Wesley brothers were not altogether happy about the changes made to their hymns, including \u201cHymn for Christmas-Day.\u201d Here\u2019s what John wrote in the preface to the 1779 edition of A Collection of Hymns for the use of the people called Methodists<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Many gentlemen have done my brother and me (though without naming us) the honour to reprint many of our Hymns. Now they are perfectly welcome so to do, provided they print them just as they are. But I desire they would not attempt to mend them; for they really are not able. None of them is able to mend either the sense or the verse.
\nTherefore, I must beg of them one of these two favours; either to let them stand just as they are, to take them for better for worse; or to add the true reading in the margin, or at the bottom of the page; that we may no longer be accountable either for the nonsense or for the doggerel of other men.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As it turns out, the doggerel of other men, including George Whitefield, prevailed over the careful poetry of Charles Wesley, and \u201cHark! The Herald Angels Sing\u201d became a classic Christmas carol, while \u201cHARK how all the welkin rings\u201d disappeared into the dustbin of good intentions.
\nYet the ultimate prevalence of \u201cHark! The Herald Angels Sing\u201d had to do, not only with the revised lyrics, but also with the stirring melody, a melody that was never intended for such a sacred purpose by its composer. I\u2019ll tell this part of the story tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 2 of series: Christmas Carol Inspiration Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series \u201cHark! The Herald Angels Sing\u201d is surely one of the most popular and beloved of Christmas carols. Each year, it is sung in thousands upon thousands of churches at Christmastime, not to mention being played in countless stores across…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christmas-carols"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cHark! The Herald Angels Sing\u201d \u2013 The Carol That Shouldn\u2019t Exist, Part 1 - Mark D. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}