Les Anges dans nos campagnes is a traditional French Christmas carol which was long ago translated into English as Angels We Have Heard On High. When I was a child we always sang it in French at home, at church and in school. I grew up in a Franco-American family and we attended St-Anne Parish, a parish in which my great grandparents and grandparents were among the founding members. We had our own parish elementary school and high school. In elementary school, we were fortunate to be taught in French half day and in English the other half. So you can understand why we sang French carols at our school.
Les Anges dans nos campagnes/Angels we have heard on high was a favorite carol. As a child, I loved singing the Glorias...
Les Anges dans nos campagnes
Les anges dans nos campagnes
Ont entonné l'hymne des cieux
Et l'écho de nos montagnes
Redit ce chant mélodieux<
Gloria in excelsis Déo! (bis)
Bergers, pour qui cette fête ?
Quel est l'objet de tous ces chants ?
Quel vainqueur, quelle conquête
Mérite ces cris triomphants :
Gloria...
Ils annoncent la naissance
Du libérateur d'Israël
Et pleins de reconnaissance
Chantent en ce jour solennel :
Gloria ...
Cherchons tous l'heureux village
Qui l'a vu naître sous ses toits
Offrons-lui le tendre hommage
Et de nos cœurs et de nos voix :
Gloria ...
Bergers, quittez vos retraites,
Unissez-vous à leurs concerts,
Et que vos tendres musettes
Fassent retenir les airs :
Gloria ...
Angels We Have Heard on High
Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.
Refrain
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?
Refrain
Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ Whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
Refrain
See Him in a manger laid,
Whom the choirs of angels praise;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While our hearts in love we raise.
Refrain
Now sing along with the rest of us bloggers and sing your way through the rest of the Christmas season with the carols you loved best.
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Lucie's Legacy
Lucie LeBlanc Consentino
6 comments:
Thank you for posting this hymn. It was always my favourite when I was a child, and still is today. Cheers! Jennifer
Thank you Jennifer!
So many beautiful carols were composed years ago and they remain among the best.
Lucie
I like this carol also. It is interesting to compare the English and French versions and see the differences in the story they tell.
Hi Janet.. thank you for your post. It is a wonderful carol!
Lucie
Beautiful, Lucie. I found myself trying to sound the words out to the
tune of the music. I wish I spoke
French.
Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you Bill! I'll have to give you some French lessons ;)
Lucie
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