40:
121:
369:
261:
564:
551:, "Shaw Lane" is used. "Sweet Chiming Bells" is an alternative folk version, repurposing the tune of a different carol, "O'er earthly plains". This tune is commonly sung in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire and also found in North East England. It uses the verses of the standard hymn alongside the
510:
It has been set to numerous other tunes, most commonly "Martyrdom", written by Hugh Wilson in 1800 but with an arrangement by Ralph E. Hudson from around 1885, and "Shackelford" by
Frederick Henry Cheeswright from 1889. Robert Jackson, parish organist at All Saints‘ Church,
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245:, were considered too secular and thus not used in church services until the end of the 18th century. As a result of its approved status, many tunes have been associated with this carol. The editors of the
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347:"How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place" with the melody in the tenor. The tune and hymn text were probably first published together in an arrangement by
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published his tune "Sherburne" in 1785, a popular setting that appeared over seventy times in print before 1810 and is still commonly sung by
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countries, the standard hymn tune of "While shepherds watched" is "Winchester Old" (initially simply "Winchester"), originally published in
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575:
The title in the supplement was "Song of the Angels at the
Nativity of our Blessed Saviour", but it has since become known chiefly by its
432:, for example, selected "Christmas" for its current hymnal, published in 1989, after the previous 1966 edition had used "Winchester Old".
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657:"Professor Jeremy Dibble's hymnology research reveals 'While Shepherds Watched ' was first hymn approved by C of E"
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It is the only one of the sixteen works in the 1700 supplement to still be sung today. It was published by
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978:
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An original arrangement of "While
Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night" from The Library of Congress.
470:
237:
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132:'s Actes of the Apostles of 1553. The latter half was adapted and used as the tune of "Winchester Old".
539:". Another tune traditionally used for it in Cornwall is "Northrop". In the towns of villages in the
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published in the United States also contained a number of other modernisations, including dropping "
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was arranged by Lowell Mason in 1821, and it is now this version which is most commonly used in the
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note that "it is impossible to print all the tunes which are traditionally sung to this hymn".
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211:(London, 1833). The carol is sung to a wide variety of tunes, the two most common ones being
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has "Winchester Old" and an alternate tune, "Hampton", composed by McNeil
Robinson in 1985.
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has noted that "While shepherds watched" was "the only
Christmas hymn to be approved by the
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An arrangement from the 19th century with music by G. W. Fink. Here the title is given as "
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from 1592. This tune was, in turn, arranged from chapter VIII of
Cambridgeshire composer
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Also known as "Whilst shepherds watched their flocks" or "The Vision of the
Shepherds (
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in the 18th century and this allowed it to be disseminated across the country with the
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The exact date of Tate's composition is not known, but the words appeared in Tate and
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519:, wrote a tune to "While shepherds watched their flocks by night" in 1903 for the
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about whom little is known, was employed by Este to arrange tunes featured in his
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and it is his arrangement of Tye's work that appears in the psalter to accompany
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include both the "Winchester Old" and "Christmas" versions, while the
Episcopal
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mentions "University" and "Crowle" as tunes to which is occasionally sung. In
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489:. It was originally set to the words 'Grace 'tis a charming sound' written by
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535:, the carol is popularly sung to "Lyngham", a tune usually associated with "
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829:. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press. 2013. pp. 117–118.
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there. Called "Jackson's Tune," it remains popular in Oldham. A note in
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583:(i.e. 'whilst' not 'while'), but most modern hymn books print "While".
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of 1696. It was the only
Christmas hymn authorised to be sung by the
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in the United
Kingdom and a variation on a Handel aria arranged by
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44:"Song of the Angels at the Nativity of our Blessed Saviour" from
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56:
801:. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press. 1990. pp.
501:. Another popular tune for the hymn from around that time is
963:"While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night (arr. Trepte)"
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Carol 'While Shepherds Watch' was sung to 'Ilkley Moor' tune
367:
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853:. New York, NY: Church Publishing. 1985. pp. 94–95.
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David Weyman's adaptation of "Christmas", taken from an
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N Temperley, "Kindred and Affinity in Hymn Tunes" in
703:. London: Oxford University Press. 1906. p. 58.
241:." This was because most carols, which had roots in
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590:and other rewritten passages (see illustration).
586:A 19th-century version by Gottfried W. Fink was
920:"While Humble Shepherds Watched Their Flocks"
645:While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks – Sandys
8:
192:were permitted to be sung. It is written in
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588:While humble shepherds watched their flocks
569:While Humble Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
38:
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769:The Hymns of the United Methodist Hymnal
462:singers. It was set to music in 1812 in
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951:"While shepherds watched their flocks"
746:"While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks"
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716:(Harvard University Press, 2007), 426
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581:Whilst Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
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579:. In Tate's original it appeared as
138:While shepherds watched their flocks
46:A New version of the Psalms of David
33:While shepherds watched their flocks
18:While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
922:. The Hymns and Carols of Christmas
748:. The Hymns and Carols of Christmas
181:New Version of the Psalms of David
25:
148:, with words attributed to Irish
975:from the original on 2021-12-13.
714:The Harvard University Hymn Book
537:O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
440:hymnal published in 2013 by the
401:Problems playing this file? See
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293:Problems playing this file? See
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1013:Hymns in The New English Hymnal
908:British Library sound recording
493:but is now better known in the
700:The English hymnal, with tunes
428:. The Hymnal Committee of the
1:
146:Annunciation to the Shepherds
555:from "O'er earthly plains".
178:'s 1700 supplement to their
436:(1990) and the more recent
227:Professor Jeremy Dibble of
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865:"While Shepherds Watched"
473:" was written in 1805 by
442:Presbyterian Church (USA)
341:The Whole Book of Psalmes
316:The Whole Book of Psalmes
163:. It is listed as number
77:, Edith Sanford Tillotson
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610:List of Christmas carols
521:Westwood Moravian Church
354:Hymns Ancient and Modern
998:English Christian hymns
798:The Presbyterian Hymnal
767:Sanchez, Diana (1989).
434:The Presbyterian Hymnal
430:United Methodist Church
188:; before 1700 only the
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219:in the United States.
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600:" as the final line.
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128:" of chapter VIII in
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771:. Nashville, Tenn.:
324:Acts of the Apostles
207:(London, 1822), and
169:Roud Folk Song Index
103:"Winchester Old" by
983:Ely Cathedral Choir
685:The Daily Telegraph
663:. 15 December 2009.
140:" is a traditional
1008:17th-century hymns
896:The English Hymnal
884:The English Hymnal
775:. pp. 91–92.
688:, 15 December 2009
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525:The English Hymnal
414:in the 1728 opera
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349:William Henry Monk
322:'s setting of the
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730:The Musical Times
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233:Church of England
229:Durham University
209:William B. Sandys
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981:", sung by
955:Hymnary.org
926:20 December
752:20 December
477:shoe-maker
460:Sacred Harp
456:Daniel Read
446:Hymnal 1982
337:madrigalist
314:'s psalter
992:Categories
870:2008-08-07
616:References
598:Hallelujah
517:Lancashire
504:Old Foster
475:Canterbury
403:media help
295:media help
243:folk music
161:Nahum Tate
75:Nahum Tate
979:Cranbrook
549:Todmorden
483:Cranbrook
471:Cranbrook
454:composer
357:in 1861.
326:in 1553.
973:Archived
604:See also
547:such as
541:Pennines
529:Cornwall
452:American
393:(1.5 Mb)
345:Psalm 84
285:(1.5 Mb)
200:2:8–14.
154:lyricist
82:Based on
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577:incipit
553:refrain
302:In the
167:in the
150:hymnist
95:8.6.8.6
63:Written
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513:Oldham
100:Melody
803:58-59
417:Siroe
332:, an
223:Tunes
126:meane
124:The "
92:Meter
53:Genre
928:2010
831:ISBN
807:ISBN
777:ISBN
754:2006
531:and
487:Kent
412:aria
351:for
312:Este
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66:1700
57:Hymn
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