This is a new series for the month of December--Christmas carols and songs, old and contemporary, that we love. I enjoy learning how songs and stories came to be plus a bit about the composers and musicians. I thought you might enjoy this as well. These are not in any particular order, just some of my favorites and a little bit about them.
Angels From the Realms of Glory
Words: James Montgomery, 1816
Music: Henry T. Smart, 1867
To hear the traditional version, go to THIS LINK
An alternate, but also beautiful version of the song, is HERE
THE STORY BEHIND THE HYMN:
James Montgomery (1771-1854) was just six years old when heard of the death of both his parents who had been in Barbados on a missionary trip. He spent the remainder of his childhood being raised within the school system in Ireland, where he did not excel academically. As a teenager, James was placed in an apprenticeship position to a Baker. He grew frustrated with that position and so ran away to Sheffield, England. There he took on various jobs to support himself, while trying to find his niche.
In his early 20s, James was hired to work for a politically active newspaper, the Sheffield Register. James found that he loved to write, and that he was good at it. When the owner of the paper had to flee the country in order to avoid imprisonment, James purchased the newspaper, after which he himself was imprisoned twice for political articles that did not sit well with the governing authorities.
Throughout all his ups and downs, James remained a devout Christian. He remembered well the lessons taught to him by his missionary parents. He chose to follow in their footsteps and to champion the cause of Christ. His newspaper was his pulpit to speak out against social and moral injustice. And in that same paper he published his original hymns of praise. Angels From the Realms of Glory appeared in print on Christmas Eve, 1816.
SOURCE
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