Hark! The Herald Angels Sing Charles Wesley, 1739
3 verses, sung to Mendelssohn (7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7), public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new-born King!
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.”
Joyful all ye nations, rise;
Join the triumph of the skies!
With the angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Verse 2. See, he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die;
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity.
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel.
Verse 3. Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness;
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings.
Let us, then, with angels sing,
“Glory to the new-born King!
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.”
Words copied from The Otterbein Hymnal (1892). They were published in 1739, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
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The story behind Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
Charles Wesley wrote the hymn in 1739, within about a year of his conversion, and it first appeared that year in Hymns and Sacred Poems. The opening line read Hark how all the welkin rings, and the poem ran longer than the version churches sing. George Whitefield changed the opening lines in his 1753 Collection of Hymns for Social Worship and dropped two stanzas. Martin Madan kept Whitefield's opening and rewrote the second stanza in 1760. John Wesley left the hymn out of his 1780 Collection, and it came back in the 1787 Pocket Hymn Book as four eight-line stanzas. A refrain was added by 1782. For its first century the words went with a tune called SALISBURY. The tune used today comes from the second chorus of Felix Mendelssohn's Festgesang, written in 1840 for the Gutenberg festival at Leipzig. In an 1843 letter Mendelssohn doubted that the music would suit sacred words. William Cummings fitted it to Wesley's text for his congregation at Waltham Abbey. The sheet music was published in London in 1856, the Congregational Hymn and Tune Book printed it in 1857, and Hymns Ancient and Modern spread it in 1861. Sources give slightly different years for the first pairing. Sir David Willcocks later composed the descant that choirs sing on the last stanza.
Charles Wesley
1707-12-18 to 1788-03-29
Charles Wesley was born at Epworth Rectory, the youngest son and eighteenth child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley. He studied at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, and became one of the first Oxford Methodists. He was ordained in 1735 and went to Georgia as secretary to General Oglethorpe. After his conversion in 1738 he worked with his brother John as an itinerant preacher, and from 1756 he focused on the Methodist societies in London and Bristol. He married Sarah Gwynne in 1749. He stayed loyal to the Church of England. Hymnary.org lists 2,474 texts under his name, and he died in London.
Felix Mendelssohn
1809 to 1847
Felix Mendelssohn was born at Hamburg, the son of the banker Abraham Mendelssohn and the grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. His family became Lutheran and took the name Bartholdy. He performed in public at nine and had written several symphonies by sixteen. In 1829 he conducted Bach's St. Matthew Passion, the first performance since Bach's death. He founded the Leipzig Conservatory in 1843 and was especially well known in England. He wrote the oratorios St. Paul and Elijah. He composed Festgesang in 1840 for the Gutenberg festival at Leipzig, and its second chorus became the tune for Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.
- Hymnology Archive, Hark how all the welkin rings , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Baptist Hymnal 1991 No. 88 , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
The Bible passages behind the words, with the verse of the hymn that draws on each.
- Luke 2:14 In verse 14 of the hymn
- 2 Corinthians 5:19 In verse 19 of the hymn
- Galatians 4:4 In verse 4 of the hymn
- Isaiah 9:6 In verse 6 of the hymn
- Philippians 2:7-8
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing videos
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Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Hymn 238) | Grace Community Church Congregation & Orchestra Hymns of Grace, Congregation
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Hark! The Herald Angels Sing | The Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Choir
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Hark! the herald-angels sing (Descant: David Willcocks) | Carols from King's 2021 KingsCollegeChoir, Choir
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Hark! The Herald Angels Sing Acapeldridge, A cappella
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Hark, the Herald Angels Sing - Christmas piano instrumental Kaleb Brasee, Piano
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Hark The Herald Angels Sing (Christmas Lyric Video) Reawaken Hymns, Modern arrangement
Videos play from YouTube, and nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. A video may sing different verses from the ones printed on this page.
Downloads, printing and slides
Sheet music files
- Sheet music PDF 111 KB. Words and all four parts, ready to print.
- Lead sheet PDF 97 KB. Melody, words and chord symbols for piano or guitar.
- MusicXML score XML 74 KB. Opens in MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius and Dorico to change the key or print parts.
- MIDI, all parts MIDI 3 KB. Plays the four-part harmony in any MIDI player or notation app.
- MIDI, melody only MIDI 1 KB. The tune alone, for learning it.
Practice tracks for each voice part, as MIDI: Alto , Tenor , Bass .
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in F.
Questions people ask
Who wrote Hark! the Herald Angels Sing?
Charles Wesley wrote it in 1739. George Whitefield changed the opening lines in 1753, and that version became the standard.
Who wrote the tune for Hark! the Herald Angels Sing?
Felix Mendelssohn wrote the music in 1840 for a Gutenberg festival, and he did not write it for sacred words. William Cummings fitted it to Wesley's text in the 1850s.
What was the original first line of Hark! the Herald Angels Sing?
Wesley's first line was Hark how all the welkin rings. Welkin is an old word for the sky.
Is Hark! the Herald Angels Sing in the public domain?
The words are public domain in the United States. Wesley's text was first published in 1739, and Mendelssohn's music and Cummings's adaptation date from 1840 and the 1850s.
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