The Story
Of
Hark the Herald Sings
This hymn can best be appreciated if one hears it sung as a carol in the darkness of the night under the open sky, when the hard lines of daylight are obscured and the sensible objects are lost to sight, when the mystery of the night stirs the imagination and when we can take our place with the humble shepherds of Bethlehem to whom the wondrous news first was revealed.
The beautiful imagery deals with the incarnation, the regeneration, and the glorious hope of things to come. When we gather all the wealth of the meaning of Jesus to men into the simplicity of the Christmas story its sacred beauty can be celebrated only by the song of the angels. It was written and first published in 1739.
The music first appeared in Mendelssohn's "Festgesang for Male Chorus and Orchestra," which was written for a festival held at Leipzig in 1840 to commemorate the invention of printing. It was adapted by Dr. William H Communing, organist at Waltham Abbey, England, as a setting for Charles Wesley's Words Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and was first published in this form in 1856. Prior to that time this great hymn had no definite association with any tune.
Charles Wesley,the author was born in 1707. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford where he graduated in 1729. His hymns number at least 650 many of which are now forgotten.
