It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

This song is based on Luke 2 verses 8-9.
"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified."

"It Came upon a Midnight Clear" was written by Edmund Hamilton Sears. The tune was composed by Richard Storrs Wills. Sears went to school at Union College in Schenectady, New York, and later Harmverd Divinity School. He was a Unitarian, or a member of a religious denomination stressing freedom of belief, atat chruches in Wayland, Lancaster, and Weston, Massachusetts. He also helped edit a magazine called The Monthly Religious Magazine. He also wrote the song "Calm on the Listening Ear of Night." Wills worked as an editor of the New York Times and composed music. Other songs of his include "Carol" and "Crusader's Hymn."

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