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by prophet seen of old, and the whole world send back the song It first appeared on December 29, 1849, in The Christian Register in Boston, Massachusetts. ed.) and Enl.) That glorious song of old, [2] Writing during a period of personal melancholy, and with news of revolution in Europe and the United States' war with Mexico fresh in his mind, Sears portrayed the world as dark, full of "sin and strife", and not hearing the Christmas message. As this hymn is sung, think about the coming time when God will make all things new and bring His peace. by prophet seen of old, 

whose forms are bending low, All Rights Reserved, Terms of Use Privacy Policy Cookie Policy, Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost, Year A. Who toil along the climbing way 3 And ye, beneath life's crushing load, The blessed angels sing.

The focus is rather on the song of the angels, “Peace on the earth, good will to men,” taken from Luke 2:14. and still their heavenly music floats To touch their harps of gold: 3 All you, beneath your heavy load, shall come the time foretold  Sears is supposed to have recorded these lyrics at the behest of his friend, William Parsons Lunt, pastor of United First Parish Church in Quincy, Massachusetts, for Lunt's Sunday School. CAROL is the most common tune to which this hymn is sung.

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from heaven's all-gracious King." It comes from the twenty-third study in Church Chorals and Choir Studies of 1850 by Richard Willis. 4. With painful steps and slow, above its sad and lowly plains,  with peaceful wings unfurled, “It came upon a midnight clear, That glorious song of old, From angels bending near the earth, To touch their harps of gold: ‘Peace on the earth, good will to men, From heaven’s all-gracious King.’ The world in solemn stillness lay, To hear the angels sing.” And hear the angels sing!”

The composer later arranged the tune into its present form for the Christmas text “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks.” CAROL was first paired with “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” in 1878. o'er all the weary world; They bend on hov'ring wing,

Try, It looks like you are using an ad-blocker. above its sad and lowly plains, Such a well-known hymn can be used in a variety of ways. when with the ever-circling years For lo! The historical context sheds some light. The accompaniment can be expanded beyond the flowing piano part with parts for optional flute, oboe, cello, and handbells.
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And ye, beneath life's crushing load, By prophets seen of old, come swiftly on the wing. And ever o'er its babel sounds What if you surrender your situation or problem into the Lord’s care? Perhaps this is due to the theological leanings of its author, even though Sears believed in the divinity of Christ, contrary to most Unitarians. when peace shall over all the earth the days are hastening on,

Look now! 4 For lo! Settings of CAROL suitable for prelude, offertory, or postlude can be found in collections such as “Christmas Comes Again, Set 2” for organ or “Christmas Carols at the Piano.” A flexible medley for four-hands piano with three other well-known carols is part of “A Season of Joy.” “The Midnight Clear” is a setting of Sears's text to original music by Joel Raney suitable for a choral anthem. "It came upon a Unitarian midnight clear", International Music Score Library Project, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=It_Came_Upon_the_Midnight_Clear&oldid=983244492, Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with International Music Score Library Project links, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 13 October 2020, at 03:22.