Philips Brooks (1835-1893), called the greatest American preacher of the nineteenth century, was descended from Puritan Boston families on both sides. He became an Episcopal Priest in 1860 and within a decade first the rector of Trinity Church in Philadelphia and later the rector of Trinity Church in Boston. Brooks was an ardent supporter of the Union and a passionate supporter of freeing the slaves. He traveled to Palestine in 1868 and spent Christmas Eve in Bethlehem, which he said left a lasting impression on him, "still singing in my soul" is how he later described it. Brooks originally wrote the lyrics for his children's Sunday school class in Philadelphia but took them with him when he moved back to Boston. Lewis Henry Redner (1830-1908) was a real estate broker who also served the organist and Sunday School superintendent in Trinity Church of Boston. Redner and Brooks often worked together choosing the music for services. On Christmas Eve 1868, Brooks' tune came suddenly to Redner, who immediately wrote the music. He played it the next day and it was performed in church on Christmas Day 1868. Redner's set four verses as a simple four-line hymn with a heartwarming melody over strong harmonies in the first, second, and fourth lines, with an awe-inspiring modulation to the minor in the third line, which makes the return of the original melody and the tonic for the fourth and final line all the more satisfying.

© All Music Guide

Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.