Angels From The Realms Of Glory

We have a unique flashback tune for you for this issue. It is a dramatic traditional carol, arranged with just the first two verses of the song to make it a great opener for a holiday performance, or for the section of an all-school concert for multiple performance groups. Short and powerful, it also lets your choir show contrast in volume in the center section.

The poem on which this popular carol was based was written by the Scottish poet James Montgomery, and first published in 1816. In many parts of the world, including Great Britain, this poem is sung to the French melody, "Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes." It's essentially the melody most people know as "Angels We Have Heard On High," complete with the cascading "Gloria In Excelsis." As a matter of fact, some choirs choose to replace the line "Come and worship Christ the new-born King" with "Gloria In Excelsis."

We prefer the version most commonly sung in the United States, set to the melody "Regent Square." It has an exultant anthem quality which we have tried to complement with brassy full orchestra on our recording. We are especially pleased with the big finale ending, which features an optional divisi vocal part.

This bonus song comes from our acclaimed collection Carols For Young Voices, so if you enjoy this setting, you may want to also hear excerpts of the other songs in the collection. Just look it up on our ever-growing web site MusicK8.com