Back to: The Twelve Days of Christmas Carols
Angels Announcing the Birth of Christ to the Shepherds – Govert Flinck (1639)
The Irish author was imprisoned twice for his beliefs and efforts for Irish freedom from the English but found joy and delight in writing in between living a vagrant’s life. The music capitalized on the desire of churches to move beyond traditional chant to harmonized more popular music. The hymn has 4 verses but there is a 5th omitted because of its tone though it brings the hymn to an appropriate conclusion.