Shepherds in the Field Abiding

Representative text cannot be shown for this hymn due to copyright.

Translator: George Ratcliffe Woodward

Educated at Caius College in Cambridge, England, George R. Woodward (b. Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, 1848; d. Highgate, London, England, 1934) was ordained in the Church of England in 1874. He served in six parishes in London, Norfolk, and Suffolk. He was a gifted linguist and translator of a large number of hymns from Greek, Latin, and German. But Woodward's theory of translation was a rigid one–he held that the translation ought to reproduce the meter and rhyme scheme of the original as well as its contents. This practice did not always produce singable hymns; his translations are therefore used more often today as valuable resources than as congregational hymns. With Charles Wood he published three series of The Cowley Carol Book (19… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Shepherds in the field abiding
Title: Shepherds in the Field Abiding
French Title: Les anges dans nos campagnes
Translator: George Ratcliffe Woodward
Meter: 8.7.8.7 with refrain
Language: English
Refrain First Line: Gloria in excelesis Deo
Copyright: Tr. © Mowbray (an imprint of Cassell plc, London)

Tune

GLORIA (French)

GLORIA is the French noel tune traditionally associated with this text. The popularity of this carol stems from its refrain–all those cascading phrases in which human beings imitate the angels' chorus. Try using the refrain by itself as a short choral introit during the Christmas season, perhaps w…

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Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 1 of 1)

Common Praise (1998) #135

Include 9 pre-1979 instances
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