This article was published in the January 2023 issue of our parish magazine – whilst we were still in the season of Christmas. Here it is for you to read again.
The trouble with writing about a seasonally appropriate piece of music each month is that there is far more Advent/Christmas/Epiphany music than there are suitable months in the year. So, this month I’m stretching a point. The season Christmas begins on Christmas Day and lasts until Candlemas, 40 days later, so despite technically having moved into Epiphany, here is a beautiful Christmas carol written by John Rutter in 1988.
Rutter is a great proponent of choral singing and writes and arranges his own works to be performed by as many configurations of singers and accompaniments as possible. In this case, he wrote originally for a solo voice and harp, but has since arranged it for SATB and SSA choirs, with harp, piano or orchestra accompaniments.
I met this piece in December 2023 when working with Notability, a talented choir that rehearses at St Bernadette’s in Whitefield, and immediately loved it. You may have heard them sing this carol in their Christmas concert at St Margaret’s in December. The text is:
Have you heard the sounds of the angel voices
Ringing out so sweetly, ringing out so clear?
Have you seen the star shining out so brightly
As a sign from God that Christ the Lord is here?
Have you heard the news that they bring from Heaven
To the humble shepherds who have waited long?
Gloria in excelsis, Deo
Gloria in excelsis, Deo
Hear the angels sing their joyful song.
He is come in peace in the winter’s stillness
Like a gentle snowfall in the gentle night
He is come in joy like the sun at morning
Filling all the world with radiance and with light
He is come in love as the child of Mary
In a simple stable, we have seen his birth:
Gloria in excelsis, Deo
Gloria in excelsis, Deo
Hear the angels singing ‘Peace on Earth’.
He will bring new light to a world in darkness
Like a bright star shining in the skies above
He will bring new hope to the waiting nations
When he comes to reign in purity and love.
Let the Earth rejoice at the Saviour’s coming
Let the Heavens answer with the joyful morn:
Gloria in excelsis, Deo
Gloria in excelsis, Deo
Hear the angels singing, ‘Christ is born’,
Hear the angels singing, ‘Christ is born’.
You can hear the Cambridge Singers perform the Angels’ Carol here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYYT52KIuzs
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 