1. Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,
and usher in the morning;
O shepherds, shrink not with affright,
but hear the angel's warning.
This child, now weak in infancy,
our confidence and joy shall be,
the power of Satan breaking,
our peace eternal making.
(Other verses subject to copyright)
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Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,
and usher in the morning.
O shepherds, shudder not with fright,
but hear the angel's warning:
this child, now weak in infancy,
our confidence and joy shall be,
the power of Satan breaking,
our peace eternal making.
2 Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,
to herald our salvation.
He stoops to earth, the God of might,
our hope and
expectation.
He comes in human flesh to dwell,
our God with us, Immanuel,
the night of darkness ending,
our fallen race befriending.
Composer: Johann Schop; harm. Johann S. Bach
Includes Wide Format PowerPoint file!
Updated Format! Beginning in November of 2016, we changed the way we formatted our PowerPoint files. The font is larger and the staff lines are bolder, making the songs easier to read from a greater distance, including smaller screens/monitors in the rear of the sanctuary.
All songs digitized previous to that date are in the "older" format.
Copyrights
- Covenant Publications
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Words: Johann Rist, Himmlische Lieder (Leipzig, Germany: 1641) (Ermuntre dich, mein schwacher Geist). Translated from German to English by John Troutbeck, circa 1885.
Music: Ermuntre dich Johann Schop, 1641. Harmony by Johann S. Bach, 1734 (🔊 pdf nwc).
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), The Christmas Oratorio, 1734
Part 2, For the Second Day of Christmas, St. Luke 2:8-14
No. 12,
Chorale
Sheet music available at RoDeby Music Company
Break forth, O beauteous heav'nly light,
And usher in the morning;
Ye shepherds, shrink not with affright,
But hear the angel's warning.
This child, now weak in infancy,
Our confidence and joy shall be,
The power of Satan breaking,
Our peace eternal maling.
German Original:
Brich an, o sch�nes Morgenlicht,
Und la� den Himmel tagen!
Du Hirtenvolk, erschrecke nicht
Weil dir die Engel sagen,
Da� dieses schwache Kn�belein
Soll unser Trost und Freude sein.
Dazu den Satin zwingen
Und letzlich Frieden bringen.
Free English Translation:
Break through, oh lovely light of morn,
and let the heavens dawn!
You shepherd folk, be not afeared,
because the angel tells you.
that this weak babe
shall be our comfort and joy,
thereto subdue the devil
and bring peace at last.
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BREAK FORTH, O BEAUTEOUS HEAVENLY LIGHT
Words:
Johann Rist (1607-1677), 1641;
Verse 1 translated from German to English by John Troutbeck, circa 1885, et. al.
Verse 2 translated by Arthur Tozer Russell, 1806-1874.
Music: "Ermuntre Dich" or "Schop", Johann
Schop (1590-1667), 1641;
Harmony by Johann Sebastian Bach, 1734.
And usher in the morning;
O [1]shepherds, shrink not with afright,
But hear the angel's warning.
This Child, now weak [2]in infancy,
Our confidence and joy shall be,
The power of Satan breaking,
Our peace eternal making. [3]
2. All blessing, thanks and praise to thee,
Lord Jesus
Christ, be given;
Thou hast our brother deigned to be,
Our foes in sunder riven.
O grant us through our day of grace
With constant praise to seek Thy face;
Grant us ere long in glory
With praises to adore thee.
Notes:
1. Or: Ye
2. Or: born
3. Another version has the last four lines:
This child, this little helpless boy
Shall be our confidence and joy
The powers
of hell o�erthrowing,
At last our peace bestowing
William L. Simon, ed., Reader�s Digest Merry Christmas Songbook (1981)
One of Martin Luther�s principal resolves when beset out to reform the Church in the late 15th century was to involve people more deeply in the celebration of the Mass. To this end, he developed the Lutheran chorale, a religious hymn sung in four-part harmony by the congregation as part of the service. Johann Sebastian Bach made great use of the idea; at intervals in his pieces, he would insert a chorale for the congregation to sing sometimes one he had written, sometimes one from the hymnal. "Break Forth, O Beauteous, Heavenly Light" is one of the latter. It was written by Johann Rist and Johann Schop in the mid-17th century, so that by 1734, when Bach included it in his Christmas Oratorio, it was well known to congregations. The harmonization, however, is Bach �s own.
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