Christmas Carols and Their Stories
Puzzle 43 · Carols of Many Lands · Page 65 in print
Angels We Have Heard on High
James Chadwick, the bishop later credited with Angels We Have Heard on High, was born at Drogheda in Ireland in 1813 and studied and taught for many years at Ushaw College, where he is buried.
Jump to a word
The words
Angels
The angels whose song the carol describes.
Campagnes
The fields (campagnes) of the French first line.
Drogheda
Irish town where Chadwick was born in 1813.
Excelsis
From the refrain Gloria in excelsis Deo.
The Holy Family Hymns (opens a new tab) · The Oxford Book of Carols (opens a new tab)
Gloria
The Latin refrain Gloria in excelsis Deo.
The Holy Family Hymns (opens a new tab) · The Oxford Book of Carols (opens a new tab)
Hexham
Chadwick was second Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.
James Chadwick
Bishop James Chadwick (1813–1882), credited with the English words.
Catholic Encyclopedia (opens a new tab) · The Westminster Hymnal (opens a new tab)
Jubilee
The shepherds’ jubilee asked about in verse two.
Les Anges
From Les Anges dans nos campagnes, the French original.
Mountains
The mountains that echo the angels in the 1860 English text.
Musette
The shepherds’ musettes (small bagpipes) named in the French text.
Plains
The plains over which the angels sing, in the 1860 English text.
Richard Terry
Richard R. Terry, music editor of The Westminster Hymnal.
Ushaw College
The college near Durham where Chadwick studied and taught.
Wiseman
Cardinal Wiseman, who approved The Holy Family Hymns in 1860.
Sources
- The Holy Family Hymns, London: Richardson and Son, 1860 (Internet Archive scan)Internet Archive
- The Oxford Book of Carols (first published 1928; 1964 printing), Internet Archive scanInternet Archive
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), vol. 3, “James Chadwick” (Edwin Burton), transcribed on WikisourceWikisource
- The Westminster Hymnal, music ed. R. R. Terry, 4th ed. revised, London: Washbourne, 1919 (imprimatur 1912), Internet Archive scanInternet Archive