"Gabriel's Message" or "The angel Gabriel from heaven came" ( eu, Birjina gaztetto bat zegoen) is a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

Christmas folk carol about the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ang ...

to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

by the

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ� ...

that she would become the mother of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

the Son of God.

Text

It quotes the biblical account of the Annunciation ( Luke, Chapter 1, verses 26–38) and Mary's

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...

(Luke 1.46–55) with the opening lines:

The angel Gabriel from heaven came, his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame; "All hail", said he, "thou lowly maiden Mary, most highly favoured lady." Gloria.

A Basque folk carol, originally based on ''Angelus Ad Virginem'', a 13th or 14th Century Latin carol, it was collected by Charles Bordes and then paraphrased into English by

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 ...

, who had spent a winter as a boy in the Basque country. The tune is called "Gabriel's Message". It is commonly performed in an arrangement by

Edgar Pettman Edgar Pettman (1866–1943) was an English organist, choral conductor and music editor. Born in Dunkirk, Kent, in 1881 he entered the Royal Academy of Music where he studied under George Alexander Macfarren. He was organist at a number of Lon ...

published in his 1892 book ''Modern Christmas Carols''. The use of the lilting phrase "Most highly favoured lady" made it the favourite carol of

Richard Harries Richard Douglas Harries, Baron Harries of Pentregarth, (born 2 June 1936) is a retired bishop of the Church of England and former British Army officer. He was the Bishop of Oxford from 1987 to 2006. From 2008 until 2012 he was the Gresham Prof ...

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his elect ...

Recordings

Notable modern interpretations include a track on

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...

's single "

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

" (1985) and on his album '' If on a Winter's Night...'' (2009). Sting's interpretation of this carol is part of the best-selling album '' A Very Special Christmas'', first released in 1987.

's English rock band

Marillion Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the most ...

recorded a version for their 1999 fan club-exclusive album ''Christmas.Marillion'', which was also performed on their 2003 DVD ''Christmas in the Chapel''. Canadian roots musicians Terry McDade and

The McDades The McDades are a Canadian folk band made up of siblings Shannon Johnson (violin and vocals), Solon McDade (bass and vocals), and Jeremiah McDade (multi-instrumentalist and vocals). The McDades were performers at an early age, playing folk music ...

on their 2001 release "Midwinter". In 2004, it was recorded by

Aled Jones Aled Jones, (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and radio and television presenter. As a teenage chorister, he reached widespread fame during the mid-1980s. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and radio (for ...

on his album '' The Christmas Album''. Christian rock band Jars of Clay also recorded a version for their 2007 ''

Christmas Songs Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject m ...

'' album.

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching ...

recorded a version of this song for the 2000 Holiday album '' Dream a Dream''.

Amanda Palmer Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a ...

is featured on Amazon's Exclusive Holiday Playlist "All Is Bright" singing the song a cappella accompanied by a choir.

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

use this reference to the ''Virgin Mary (Intro)'' on her ''

The MDNA Tour The MDNA Tour was the ninth concert tour by American singer Madonna, launched in support of her twelfth studio album, '' MDNA'' (2012). Comprising 88 shows, the tour began on May 31, 2012, in Tel Aviv's Ramat Gan Stadium and concluded in Cór ...

'' on 2012. Ukrainian singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Dilya made his version of "Gabriel's Message" in Ukrainian folk tradition using bandura, guitar and organ with ethnic female back vocals. It is the first single from his Christmas EP with the same name, due to be released on December 20, 2015.

Moya Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

, the singer of the Irish band

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

, recorded the song on her Christmas album of 2005, ''

An Irish Christmas ''An Irish Christmas'' is a music album by Irish musician Moya Brennan. According to Moya, the idea for the album first came to her some time ago: "I've been involved in number of other people's Christmas projects in recent years," explains Mo ...

.''

References

External links

* * * {{authority control Advent songs Basque music Christmas carols Marian hymns Sting (musician) songs

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Recordings

See also

References

External links