“While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” : Watson, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology: Watson, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” An Annotated Anthology of Hymns (Oxford: University Press, 2002), pp. He had something of a very sad end, and died as an alcoholic. He was born and studied in Trinity College at Dublin. 1013–1014.īert Polman, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” Psalter Hymnal Handbook (Grand Rapids: CRC, 1998), pp. The carol, While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night, was written by an Irishman, Nahum Tate.

Raymond Glover, “SIROE,” The Hymnal 1982 Companion, vol. Nicholas Temperley, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” The Hymnal 1982 Companion, vol.

Young, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville: Abingdon, 1993), p. Hugh Keyte & Andrew Parrott, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” New Oxford Book of Carols (Oxford: University Press, 1992), pp. Richard Watson & Kenneth Trickett, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” Companion to Hymns and Psalms (Peterborough: Methodist Publishing House, 1988), pp. John Wilson, “Handel and the Hymn Tune: II-Some Hymn Tune Arrangements,” The Hymn, vol. Nicholas Temperley, “Kindred affinity in hymn tunes,” The Musical Times, vol. 136.Įrik Routley, “While shepherds watched,” The English Carol (London: Herbert Jenkins, 1958), pp. Maurice Frost, English & Scottish Psalm & Hymn Tunes (London: SPCK, 1953), no. Arnold’s Handel Edition, 1787–1797,” Music Review, vol. Arnold’s Edition of Handel’s Works,” Notes, vol. Coopersmith, “The First Gesamtausgabe: Dr. John Julian, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” A Dictionary of Hymnology (London: J. 119.īert Polman, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” Psalter Hymnal Handbook (Grand Rapids: CRC, 1998), p. Watson, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” An Annotated Anthology of Hymns (Oxford: University Press, 2002), p. 9).Īlbert Edward Bailey, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” The Gospel in Hymns (NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1950), p. Find your perfect arrangement and access a variety of transpositions so you can print and play instantly, anywhere. The first known pairing of this text and tune appeared in Hymns for the Use of the Methodist Episcopal Church with Tunes (NY: Carlton & Porter, 1857 | Fig. Browse our 7 arrangements of 'While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks.' Sheet music is available for Piano, Voice, Guitar and 2 others with 7 scorings and 3 notations in 11 genres. It has also gone by other names, including LUNENBURG, SIROE, DELAWARE, HARLEIGH, and SAXONY. This adapted hymn tune was first dubbed CHRISTMAS in Amos Blanchard’s Newburyport Collection of Sacred, European Musick (Exeter: Ranlet & Norris, 1807). In his 1791 collection of tunes, 27 were credited to Handel. In any case, passages on a pedal bass were not uncommon in hymn tunes of the period.Īrnold’s edition, The Works of Handel, was the first attempt at compiling Handel’s compositions, eventually released in 180 parts between 17, although ultimately not including Siroe.

Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences. Handel, therefore, is not to blame for those nine consecutive E’s in the bass part our big jump occurs in the middle of them. Definition of while-shepherds-watched-their-flocks-by-night in Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. To find the fourth, we have to jump ahead for 16 measures and end with the soloist’s final phrase. The first three come directly from the singer’s opening phrases. The arrangement is an ingenious one, calling for the last line of each stanza to be repeated, so there are five phrases. This became the now familiar tune CHRISTMAS, known in Britain as LUNENBURG. The result was our, allocated to Tate and Brady’s version of a psalm associated with the Christmas season. He was also busy editing the complete works of Handel, and so was just the man to pick out the attractive soprano aria “Non vi piacque” in the half-forgotten opera Siroe, and to see its possibilities for a hymn tune. Arnold, a prolific and successful composer for the stage, was then organist and composer for the Chapel Royal. I have used the 'Winchester Old' tune, which is the one that is usually sung in England, and which can be traced back to the sixteenth century.John Wilson, in an article for The Hymn, explained Arnold’s influence in this adaptation:ĭr. As with many carols, different tunes are used in different parts of the world. The words to 'While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks' date from at least as far back as 1700, and are usually thought to have been written by Nahum Tate. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night - Chords, Lyrics and Origins Origins

Shepherds watched their flocks by night