One theme of this hymn is the contrast between the message “peace on earth, good will toward men” proclaimed by the host of angels at Christ's birth (Luke 2:14) and the war and oppression that dominate the earth. As this hymn is sung, think about the coming time when God will make all things new and bring His peace.
Text:
Edmund H. Sears, a Unitarian minister at Wayland, Massachusetts, wrote this hymn in 1849. It was published that year a few days after Christmas in the Boston Christian Register. While obviously a Christmas hymn due to its theme of the angels' song, there is no mention at all of Christ or His birth about which the angels sang; it is a social gospel hymn. Perhaps this is due to the theological leanings of its author, even though Sears believed in the divinity of Christ, contrary to most Unitarians. Written only a dozen years before the outbreak of the American Civil War, the peaceable leanings of the Unitarian school of thought are evident in the text.
Originally written in five stanzas, this hymn is usually published with four. The third stanza (beginning “Yet with the woes”) is most commonly omitted, and the fourth (beginning “And ye, beneath life's crushing load”) is next most common. The first and second stanzas (“It came upon the midnight clear” and “Still through the cloven skies they come”) describe the coming of the angels and their song. The third condemns war, and the fourth commiserates with those in bondage and trial. The fifth stanza (“For lo! the days are hastening on”) describes a future time of peace.
Tune:
CAROL is the most common tune to which this hymn is sung. It comes from the twenty-third study in Church Chorals and Choir Studies of 1850 by Richard Willis. The composer later arranged the tune into its present form for the Christmas text “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks.” CAROL was first paired with “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” in 1878.
This tune may be sung in harmony, or in unison. The accompaniment should be legato, and an additional instrument such as a flute or violin would work well.
When/Why/How:
This hymn is suitable for the Christmas season. Such a well-known hymn can be used in a variety of ways. Settings of CAROL suitable for prelude, offertory, or postlude can be found in collections such as “Christmas Comes Again, Set 2” for organ or “Christmas Carols at the Piano.” A flexible medley for four-hands piano with three other well-known carols is part of “A Season of Joy.” “The Midnight Clear” is a setting of Sears's text to original music by Joel Raney suitable for a choral anthem. The accompaniment can be expanded beyond the flowing piano part with parts for optional flute, oboe, cello, and handbells. The collection “Tis the Season” contains a descant and congregational setting of this hymn. Another congregational setting of “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” includes a trumpet descant.
Tiffany Shomsky,
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