Hymns/carols/songs about angels

[UnSerpentQuiCourt]

Hi. I am arranging an 'Angel Day' for my school as part of the run up to Christmas. We are going to do lots of angel-related art and I was looking for some suitable songs. I have already downloaded Angels From the Realms of Glory, Gabriel's Message, Mary's Boy child and The First Noel - any other ideas? Any brilliant and unusual ideas for arty activities?

Hark the Herald Angels Sing
See amid the winters snow (end of 1st verse)
While shepherds watched

It came upon the midnight clear
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold:
"Peace on the earth, goodwill to men
From heavens all gracious King!"
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled;
And still their heavenly music floats
O'er all the weary world:
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o'er its Babel sounds
The blessed angels sing.

O ye beneath life's crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow;
Look now, for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing;
Oh rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing.

For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophets seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold,
When the new heaven and earth shall own
The Prince of Peace, their King,
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.

I love those words.

Lovely idea. Rutter's Angel Carol is very angely. Works well with children singing it.

1. Have you heard the sound of the angel voices ringing out so sweetly, ringing out so clear? Have you seen the star shining out so brightly as a sign from God that Christ the Lord is here? Have you heard the news that they bring from heaven to the humble shepherds who have waited long? Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo! Hear the angels sing their joyful song.

1. He is come in peace in the winter's stillness, like a gentle snowfall in the gentle night. He is come in joy, like the sun at morning, filling all the world with radiance and with light. He is come in love as the child of Mary. In a simple stable we have seen his birth. Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo! Hear the angels singing 'Peace on earth'.

1. He will bring new light to a world in darkness, like a bright star shining in the skies above. He will bring new hope to the waiting nations, when he comes to reign in purity and love. Let the earth rejoice at the Saviour's coming. Let the heavens answer with a joyful morn: Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo! ||: Hear the angels singing, 'Christ is born'.

Could you ask for more angels?!

Actually I meant it Came upon the Midnight Clear, not See amid. Thanks OrmIrian

It is just christmas in essence that carol - angels, peace, night skies, and then a lovely triumphal last verse. Beautiful!

"The Angel Gabriel from Heaven came" was one we sang at primary. We got told we were singing the chorus so it sounded like "Most highly flavoured, lady! Gloria!"

"Angel voices ever singing" is another angel one.

How old are the children? Perhaps you could do something about the origin of angels, touching on Sumeria/Babylon, so that the children understand they're not just humanoids in white dresses with feathery wings and tinsel halos?

It's a horrible stereotype, but you might get the boys more interested if you did something about the four Archangels, so you could get Michael in there with his flaming sword.

Of course!! I know most of those carols, but was having a very blank moment. Thank you so much.
We will be doing it across the whole school: R - 6. Year 5/6 might enjoy learning about origins of angels and flaming swords!
Thanks again - keep posting ideas.
(Of to youtube to listen to your selections.)

I saw 3 ships has a verse about angels,

while shepherds watched their flocks

It came upon a midnight clear

Ding dong merrily on high

God rest ye merry gentlemen (vs 3 & 4)

Fantastic! I have loads of music now - any arty ideas?

handprint angels? Two white handprints with thumbs joining, fingers closed. Third handprint in gold in the centre of these two, facing same direction.

Turn upside down....white handprints are wings, gold handprint is robe of angel. Draw a face and a halo and you have an angel. {[http://usefulwiki.com/displays/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/handyangels1.jpg they]] did things opposite way around.

usefulwiki.com/displays/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/handyangels1.jpg

Half a paper plate, roll and staple to make a cone. Pink circle for face, half a doily for wings. Decorate with half a ton of glitter.

KS 2 could have a lot of fun making angel music with bells - glockenspiel, harpsichord, "ooh" and "aah" noises on the keyboard. Give KS1 chime bars in the right key, triangles and tambourines and they can bang along to something already written. KS2 can try and make their own up, perhaps?

Angel craft is hard: It usually ends up centred around doilies and cardboard cones, or toilet roll tubes.

But biblically angels are big, male-ish and absolutely terrifying!

I'm not sure how you consolidate the two.

This is a fantastic book with stories for children about what angels!

i can see how my son would be unimpressed with making too much girly angel stuff - its all too close to fairies really.

Maybe show some alternate images of angels - the angel of the north, for example. or google images of Archangel Michael - he is one tough cookie.
Banksy might be a bit out there...

The angels in Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy are pretty tough, or is that a bit too controversial for Primary? wouldn't want you to end up as a Daily Mail headline

Yes, there are lovely ideas for KS1 angels - doilies and glitter. As you say, the trouble is KS2. Maybe making some giant angels to stand either side of the stage in the hall? And stories of more challenging angels for the older ones, especially the boys and maybe not put their artwork too close to the KS1 play so as not to frighten KS1 parents. There was once a Doctor Who with a very scarey angel. Some of the angels in the Jewish tradition were big on smiting, I seem to remember.

With KS2, how about some Renaissance Art? Michael Angelo et al were huge fans of angels and painted them all over Rome iirc! You could get them looking into the lifes of the artists, do a whatever the art equivalent is of a discology?

Maybe not really want you want but a summary on wiki describes the hierarchy of angels in the christian tradition, and some are pretty far out - four faces, looking like wheels covered in eyes, etc...

my DD did an art project on angels - they had a wide open topic, and could do anything they wanted. SHe chose to do some clay models of angels, with the idea "WHat ANgels do on their day off" - there were 5.

1. A Banksy angel with a spray can, in front of the dove of peace in Jerusalem
2. A fisherman angel with his rod and fishing box
3. An Elvis impersonator angel (I blame DH for that one) - complete with bell bottom trousers and mic
4. A reading angel
5. A leap-frogging angel pair.

She had huge fun making them. A nice creative enterprise that is just silly.

Other kids made junk model angels, angel T shirts, angels out of fondant icing, wings out of coat hangers, a great lifesize (teen) collage made from a tracing of their outline - then using paper and magazines and feathers and all that stuff.

They could dress a cuddly toy in angel costumes, make their own costumes (after showing them images of the tough manly angels).

Maybe you could also teach them the chorus of Halo, by Beyonce, just out of badness....

Ooh, cut an outline out of white felt, punch small holes around the edge, overstitch with white wool and stuff with toy stuffing or beans. Sew on white net wings. Decorate with fabric pens.

Do you have a Bible with the Appocrapher (sp) in it, eg. a Catholic bible. The story of Tobbit is all about an Angel travelling in disguise, maybe suitable for year 6? And you could have the Angels and Lot for year 5 (although just what the crowds wanted to do to them is a bit adult).
Maybe you could do some Angel in disguise art work, a bit like Superman/Clark Kent images? Could even involve some DT.

Apocrypha

What about Jacob's Ladder, wasn't that an angel?

Now, this is the sort of thing I was hoping for. I love doilies and toilet rolls, but I wanted something a bit different as well. Brilliant!
(Off to read bible now)