#207 It Came upon the Midnight Clear
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-History: (Source: Wikipedia)
“It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” is a poem and Christmas carol written by Edmund Sears, pastor of the Unitarian Church in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Sears’ lyrics are most commonly set to one of two melodies: “Carol,” composed by Richard Storrs Willis, or “Noel,” adapted from an English melody.
Edmund Sears composed the five-stanza poem in 1849. It first appeared on December 29, 1849 in the Christian Register in Boston.[1][2] Sears is said to have written these words at the request of his friend, William Parsons Lunt, pastor of United First Parish Church, Quincy, Massachusetts.
In 1850, Richard Storrs Willis, a composer who trained under Felix Mendelssohn, wrote the melody called “Carol.” This melody is most often set in the key of B-flat major in a six-eighttime signature. “Carol” is the most widely known tune to the song in the United States.[1][3][4][5]
In the United Kingdom the tune called “Noel”, which was adapted from an English melody in 1874 by Arthur Sullivan, is the usual accompaniment. This tune also appears as an alternate in The Hymnal 1982, the hymnal of the United States Episcopal Church.[6]
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