# Gabriel's Message
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{{short description|Basque Christmas folk carol}}
{{Infobox musical composition
| name = Gabriel's Message
| subtitle = Gabriel’s Message 23
| type = [Christmas carol](/source/Christmas_carol)
| image = The angel gabriel.gif
| alt = The Angel Gabriel sheet music
| caption = The Angel Gabriel sheet music
| full_title = The angel Gabriel from heaven came
| native_name = Birjina gaztetto bat zegoen
| native_name_lang = eu
| text = [The Magnificat](/source/Magnificat)
| language = Basque
| melody = "''Angelus Ad Virginem''{{-"}}
| composed = 13th century
| performed =
| published =
}}
"'''Gabriel's Message'''" or "'''The angel Gabriel from heaven came'''" ({{langx|eu|'''Birjina gaztetto bat zegoen'''}}) is a [Basque](/source/Basque_language) Christmas folk [carol](/source/Christmas_carol) about the [Annunciation](/source/Annunciation) to the [Virgin Mary](/source/Virgin_Mary) by the [archangel](/source/archangel) [Gabriel](/source/Gabriel) that she would become the mother of [Jesus Christ](/source/Jesus_Christ) the [Son of God](/source/Son_of_God).
== Text ==
It quotes the biblical account of the Annunciation ([Luke](/source/Gospel_of_Luke), Chapter 1, verses 26–38) and Mary's [Magnificat](/source/Magnificat) (Luke 1.46–55) with the opening lines:[{{Cite book |last1=Paul |first1=McDowell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6x6KkHpixjAC&q=%22most+highly+favoured+lady%22&pg=PA103 |title=A Book Of Folk Carols |last2=MacKinnon |first2=Kenneth |publisher=Writersworld |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-904181-49-1 |pages=103}}]
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](/source/Angelus_ad_virginem)'', a 13th or 14th Century Latin carol,[{{Cite web |title=Gabriel's Message |url=https://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/gabriels_message.htm |website=The Hymns and Carols of Christmas}}] it was collected by [Charles Bordes](/source/Charles_Bordes) (pub. Paris 1897) and then paraphrased into English by [Sabine Baring-Gould](/source/Sabine_Baring-Gould) (pub. 1922), who had spent a winter as a boy in the Basque country. The tune is called "Gabriel's Message".[{{Cite web |title=The angel Gabriel from heaven came |url=https://hymnary.org/text/the_angel_gabriel_from_heaven_came |website=Hymnary.org}}] It is commonly performed in an arrangement by [Edgar Pettman](/source/Edgar_Pettman) published in 1922.
The use of the lilting phrase "Most highly favoured lady" made it the favourite carol of [Richard Harries](/source/Richard_Harries), [Bishop of Oxford](/source/Bishop_of_Oxford).[{{Citation |last=Richard Brooks |title=Connoisseurs oust classics from carol chart |date=December 7, 2008 |work=The Times |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article5299275.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616132052/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article5299275.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 16, 2011 |place=London}}]
== Recordings ==
Notable modern interpretations include a track on [Sting](/source/Sting_(musician))'s single "[Russians](/source/Russians_(song))" (1985) and on his album ''[If on a Winter's Night...](/source/If_on_a_Winter's_Night...)'' (2009). Sting's interpretation of this carol is part of the best-selling album ''[A Very Special Christmas](/source/A_Very_Special_Christmas_(album))'', first released in 1987.[[Sting](/source/Sting_(musician))'s {{YouTube|hrhZ2irtjCM |interpretation of "Gabriel's Message"}}] English rock band [Marillion](/source/Marillion) 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](/source/The_McDades) on their 2001 release "Midwinter".
In 2004, it was recorded by [Aled Jones](/source/Aled_Jones) on his album ''[The Christmas Album](/source/The_Christmas_Album_(Aled_Jones_album))''. [Jars of Clay](/source/Jars_of_Clay) recorded a version for its 2007 ''[Christmas Songs](/source/Christmas_Songs_(Jars_of_Clay_album))'' album. [Charlotte Church](/source/Charlotte_Church) recorded a version of this song for the 2000 Holiday album ''[Dream a Dream](/source/Dream_a_Dream)''. [Amanda Palmer](/source/Amanda_Palmer) is featured on Amazon's Exclusive Holiday Playlist "All Is Bright" singing the song a cappella, accompanied by a choir. [Madonna](/source/Madonna_(entertainer)) use this reference to the ''Virgin Mary (Intro)'' on her ''[The MDNA Tour](/source/The_MDNA_Tour)'' on 2012. Ukrainian singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist {{ill|Dilya|uk|Приступа Едуард Вікторович}} 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, released on December 20, 2015. [Moya Brennan](/source/Moya_Brennan), the singer of the Irish band [Clannad](/source/Clannad), recorded the song on her Christmas album of 2005, ''[An Irish Christmas](/source/An_Irish_Christmas).''
==See also==
* [List of Christmas carols](/source/List_of_Christmas_carols)
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Wikisource|The angel Gabriel from heaven came}}
* {{commonscat-inline|Gabriel's Message}}
* {{CPDL|text=Gabriel's Message}}
* {{Cite web |title=Gabriel's Message |url=http://dilya.com.ua |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222112526/http://dilya.com.ua/ |archive-date=2015-12-22 |access-date=2018-03-17 |website=DILYA}}
* {{YouTube|7AmWu2zLzrU | King’s College Choir, Cambridge – Gabriel's Message (2012)}}
{{Advent}}
{{Marian hymns}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Advent songs
Category:Basque music
Category:Christmas carols
Category:Marian hymns
Category:Sting (musician) songs
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gabriel's Message](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel's_Message) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel's_Message?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.