A lot of tunes have been associated with this carol. It was the only Christmas hymn authorised to be sung by the Anglican Church; before 1700 only the Psalms of David were permitted to be sung. While shepherds watched their flocks by night, all seated on the ground; the angel of the Lord came down, and glory shone around, and glory shone around. 3. [14] In the towns of villages in the Pennines of West Yorkshire such as Todmorden, "Shaw Lane" is used. This was because most carols, which had roots in folk music, were considered too secular and thus not used in church services until the end of the 18th century. [4], David Weyman's adaptation of "Christmas", taken from an aria in the 1728 opera Siroe by George Frideric Handel was arranged by Lowell Mason in 1821, and it is now this version which is most commonly used in the United States. A note in The English Hymnal mentions "University" and "Crowle" as tunes to which is occasionally sung. Lyrics below.\r\r\"While Shepherds Watched Their Sheep\"\r\rWhile shepherds watched their flocks by night,\rAll seated on the ground\rThe angel of the Lord came down,\rAnd glory shone around\r\r\"Fear not!\" said he; for mighty dread\rHad seized their troubled minds\r\"Glad tidings of great joy I bring\rTo you and all mankind\r\rTo you in David's house this day\rIs born of David's line\rThe Savior who is Christ the Lord\rAnd this shall be the sign:\r\rThe heavenly babe you there shall find\rto human view displayed\rAll meanly wrapped in swaddling bands\rAnd in a manger laid\"\r\rHallelujah, Hallelujah\rHallelujah, Christ is born\rHallelujah, Hallelujah\rHallelujah, Christ is born\r\r\"All glory be to God on high\rAnd to the earth be peace\rGood will henceforth from God to man\rBegin and never cease\" In Tate's original it appeared as Whilst Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (i.e. [14] In the towns of villages in the Pennines of West Yorkshire such as Todmorden, "Shaw Lane" is used. American composer Daniel Read published his tune "Sherburne" in 1785, a popular setting that appeared over seventy times in print before 1810 and is still commonly sung by Sacred Harp singers. It was published by Davies Gilbert (London, 1822), and William B. Sandys (London, 1833). It was published by Davies Gilbert (London, 1822), and William B. Sandys (London, 1833). [13] In Cornwall, the carol is popularly sung to "Lyngham", a tune usually associated with "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing". "While shepherds watched their flocks"[1] is a Christmas carol describing the Annunciation to the Shepherds, with words attributed to Irish hymnist, lyricist and England's Poet Laureate Nahum Tate.[2]. [12] It was originally set to the words 'Grace 'tis a charming sound' written by Philip Doddridge but is now better known in the UK as the tune of On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at. The editors of the English Hymnal noting that "it is impossible to print all the tunes which are traditionally sung to this hymn". 'whilst' not 'while'), but most modern hymn books print "While". The Hymnal Committee of the United Methodist Church, for example, selected "Christmas" for its current hymnal, published in 1989, after the previous 1966 edition had used "Winchester Old". said he, for mighty dread had seized their troubled mind. Trepte)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=While_shepherds_watched_their_flocks&oldid=962382210, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 13 June 2020, at 18:35. This is no fancy video nor a music video. Robert Jackson, parish organist at All Saints‘ Church, Oldham, Lancashire, wrote a tune to "While shepherds watched their flocks by night" in 1903 for the Westwood Moravian Church there. A note in The English Hymnal mentions "University" and "Crowle" as tunes to which is occasionally sung. While shepherds watched their flocks by night. From Andrew Peterson's album "Behold The Lamb of God: the True Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ." American composer Daniel Read published his tune "Sherburne" in 1785, a popular setting that appeared over seventy times in print before 1810 and is still commonly sung by Sacred Harp singers. While shepherds watched their flocks by night, all seated on the ground, the angel of the Lord came down, and glory shone around. The hymn tune "Cranbrook" was written in 1805 by Canterbury shoe-maker Thomas Clark and named after the local village of Cranbrook. An original arrangement of "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night" from The Library of Congress. [4], David Weyman's adaptation of "Christmas", taken from an aria in the 1728 opera Siroe by George Frideric Handel was arranged by Lowell Mason in 1821, and it is now this version which is most commonly used in the United States. "Glad tidings of great joy I bring to all of humankind, to all of humankind." [15], The title in the supplement was "Song of the Angels at the Nativity of our Blessed Saviour", but it has since become known chiefly by its incipit. Robert Jackson, parish organist at All Saints‘ Church, Oldham, Lancashire, wrote a tune to "While shepherds watched their flocks by night" in 1903 for the Westwood Moravian Church there. [2] The exact date of Tate's composition is not known, but the words appeared in Tate and Nicholas Brady 's 1700 supplement to their New Version of the Psalms of David of 1696. The editors of the English Hymnal noting that "it is impossible to print all the tunes which are traditionally sung to this hymn". 'whilst' not 'while'), but most modern hymn books print "While". It was set to music in 1812 in Harmonia Sacra. In Tate's original it appeared as Whilst Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (i.e. "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night (arr. [13] In Cornwall, the carol is popularly sung to "Lyngham", a tune usually associated with "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing". [4] Another popular tune for the hymn from around that time is Old Foster. "Fear not!" [4][5], George Kirbye, an East Anglian madrigalist about whom little is known, was employed by Este to arrange some of tunes featured in his The Whole Book of Psalmes and it is his arrangement of Tye's work that appears in the psalter to accompany Psalm 84 "How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place" with the melody in the tenor. It is the only one of the sixteen works in the 1700 supplement to still be sung today. [2] The carol is sung to a wide variety of tunes, the two most common ones being Winchester Old in the United Kingdom and a variation on a Handel aria arranged by Lowell Mason in the United States. An original arrangement of "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night" from The Library of Congress. \r- Note: This is NOT the 10th anniversary/special edition Andrew Peterson has; this is the first/original album.\r\r*Note: This is just the audio with the image from the album. [7], A 19th century version by Gottfried W. Fink was While humble shepherds watched their flocks and other rewritten passages (see illustration). It is written in common metre and based on the Gospel of Luke 2:8–14. [16], Also known as "Whilst shepherds watched their flocks" or "The Vision of the Shepherds (, N Temperley, "Kindred and Affinity in Hymn Tunes" in, While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks – Sandys, Carol 'While Shepherds Watch' was sung to 'Ilkley Moor' tune, "While Humble Shepherds Watched Their Flocks". It has been set to numerous other tunes, most commonly "Martyrdom", written by Hugh Wilson in 1800 but with an arrangement by Ralph E. Hudson from around 1885, and "Shackelford" by Frederick Henry Cheeswright from 1889. From Andrew Peterson's album \"Behold The Lamb of God: the True Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ.\"\r- This is more of a \"Christmas-y\" kind of album, but still has beautiful music and meaningful music with just as powerful lyrics as any other song/album Peterson has. "Sweet Chiming Bells" is an alternative folk version, commonly sung in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, which uses the verses of the hymn but adds a new refrain. [7], A 19th century version by Gottfried W. Fink was While humble shepherds watched their flocks and other rewritten passages (see illustration). [15], The title in the supplement was "Song of the Angels at the Nativity of our Blessed Saviour", but it has since become known chiefly by its incipit. While shepherds watched their flocks; Genre: Hymn: Written: 1700: Text: Nahum Tate, Edith Sanford Tillotson: Based on: Luke 2:8: Meter: 8.6.8.6: Melody "Winchester Old" by George Kirbye, "Christmas" by George Frideric Handel, arranged by Lowell Mason: The "meane" of chapter VIII in Christopher Tye's Actes of the Apostles of 1553.