O little town of Bethlehem - Forest Green (Vaughan Williams)
Carols
| Composer: | Ralph Vaughan Williams | |
| Arranger: | (For verse 1) R. Mather | |
| Voicing: | SATB and Acompaniment | |
| Words: | Phillip Brooks |
O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.
how still we see thee lie!
above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.
O morning stars together,
proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
and peace to men on earth!
For Christ is born of Mary,
and gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wondering love.
proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
and peace to men on earth!
For Christ is born of Mary,
and gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wondering love.
How silently, how silently,
the wondrous Gift is giv´n;
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of His Heav´n.
No ear may hear His coming,
but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him
still, the dear Christ enters in.
the wondrous Gift is giv´n;
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of His Heav´n.
No ear may hear His coming,
but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him
still, the dear Christ enters in.
Where children pure and happy
pray to the blesséd Child,
Where misery cries out to Thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching
and faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
and Christmas comes once more.
pray to the blesséd Child,
Where misery cries out to Thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching
and faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
and Christmas comes once more.
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel!
descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel!
View or download the score
Wakefield Cathedral Choir
Birmingham University Singers
O Little Town of Bethlehem written
by Phillips Brooks, an Episcopal priest, who was inspired when he was
visiting the town of Bethlehem in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the
poem for his church and his organist, Lewis Redner, added the music.
Redner's tune, simply titled “St. Louis,” is the tune used most often
for this carol in the United States. The English tune “Forest Green,” adapted by Ralph Vaughan Williams, is the tune most often used for this
carol in the United Kingdom and sometimes in the U.S. as well,
especially in the Episcopal Church.
Another
version by H. Walford Davies is usually performed only by choirs rather
than as a congregational hymn. This is because the first four verses are
for treble voices with organ accompaniment, with only the final verse
as a chorale/refrain harmony.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Metasyntactic variable".
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