When Morning Gilds the Skies

Representative Text

1 When morning gilds the sky,
our hearts awaking cry:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
in all our work and prayer
we ask his loving care:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

2 To God, the Word on high,
the hosts of angels cry:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let mortals too upraise
their voice in hymns of praise:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

3 Let earth's wide circle round
in joyful notes resound:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let air and sea and sky
from depth to height reply:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

4 Be this, when day is past,
of all our thoughts the last:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
The night becomes as day
when from the heart we say:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

5 Then let us join to sing
to Christ, our loving King:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this the eternal song
through all the ages long:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

Psalter Hymnal, 1987

Translator: Edward Caswall

Edward Caswall was born in 1814, at Yately, in Hampshire, where his father was a clergyman. In 1832, he went to Brasenose College, Oxford, and in 1836, took a second-class in classics. His humorous work, "The Art of Pluck," was published in 1835; it is still selling at Oxford, having passed through many editions. In 1838, he was ordained Deacon, and in 1839, Priest. He became perpetural Curate of Stratford-sub-Castle in 1840. In 1841, he resigned his incumbency and visited Ireland. In 1847, he joined the Church of Rome. In 1850, he was admitted into the Congregation of the Oratory at Birmingham, where he has since remained. He has published several works in prose and poetry. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: When morning gilds the skies, My heart awakening cries (Caswall)
Title: When Morning Gilds the Skies
German Title: Beim frühen Morgenlicht
Translator: Edward Caswall (1854)
Source: German, 1828
Place of Origin: Germany
Language: English
Notes: Spanish translations: See "Del alba al despuntar" by Anonymous, "Del alba al resplandor"
Copyright: Public Domain
Liturgical Use: Opening Hymns

Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Ps. 34:1
st. 2 = Rev. 5:6-14
st. 3 = Ps. 19:1
ref. = Heb. 13:15

This litany of praise to Christ was translated from an anonymous
German text, "Beim frühen Morgenlicht," thought to date from around 1800 (perhaps even the mid-1700s). The German text was first published in Sebastian Portner's Katholisches Gesangbuch (1828) in fourteen stanzas of couplets with a refrain line.

Edward Caswall's English translation, prepared from one of several variants of the text, was published in six stanzas in Henry Formby's Catholic Hymns (1854). Caswall (b. Yately, Hampshire, England, 1814; d. Edgebaston, Birmingham, England, 1878) published another eight stanzas in his Masque of Mary (1858). Like most other hymnals, the Psalter Hymnal provides a text taken from various parts of the Caswall translation.

A morning hymn (st. 1) as well as an evening hymn (st. 4), the text presents praise to Christ from angels and human creatures (st. 2) and from the elements of earth to the farthest reach of the cosmos (st. 3). In fact, this text is for all times and places: "Be this the eternal song"!

Caswell, the son of an Anglican clergyman, studied for the priesthood at Brasenose College, Oxford, England. He was ordained in 1839 and served the church in Stratford-sub-Castle but resigned his position in 1847. By this time he had become deeply involved in the Oxford Movement, an Anglican movement with strong Roman Catholic leanings. In 1847 Caswell and his wife traveled to Rome, where they were received into the Roman Catholic Church. After his wife's death Caswell became a Roman Catholic priest and joined the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Birmingham, a group supervised by John Henry Newman, an earlier Roman Catholic convert from the Church of England. Caswell then devoted himself to two main tasks–serving the poor of Birmingham and writing and translating hymns, mainly from the Latin office-books and from German sources. Many of his translations were published in his Lyra Catholica (1849) and, with revisions, in Hymns and Poems (1873).

Liturgical Use:
Many occasions as a hymn of praise to Christ; a hymn for all seasons and all times of worship–morning, midday, or evening; could also frame the day of worship with stanzas 1-3 used at the beginning of morning worship and stanzas 4-5 used as a doxology for evening worship.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1987
=================================================================================
When morning gilds the skies, by E. Caswall, first published in H. Formby's Catholic Hymns, London, N. D., 1854 [approbation May 3, 1853], p. 44, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines and double refrain. In Caswall's Masque of Mary, 1858, 8 stanzas were added, and thus in his Hymns & Poems, 1873, p. 155, in 28 stanzas of 2 lines and refrain, entitled "The Praises of Jesus," the first line being given as "Gelobt sey Jesus Christ," which, as will be seen above, is the original refrain. The full text is given unaltered as No. 269 in the Appendix to the Hymnal Noted, 3rd edition, 1867.
This hymn has attained considerable popularity, and is found in varying centos, as in Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1868-75; Hymnary, 1872; Baptist Hymnal, 1879; Scottish Free Church Hymn Book, 1882; Border's Collection, 1884; and in America in the Baptist Praise Book, 1871; Evangelical Hymnal, N. Y., 1880; Laudes Domini, 1884, and others. Generally it appears under its original first line, but in the People's Hymnal, 1867, it is divided into two parts, No. 446 beginning "The night becomes as day," which is stanza xi. of the 1828, and stanza xx. of the text of 1873. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Tune

LAUDES DOMINI (Barnby)

Joseph Barnby (b. York, England, 1838; d. London, England, 1896) composed LAUDES DOMINI for this text [When morning gilds the skies] Tune and text were published together in the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern and they have been inseparable ever since. An accomplished and popular choral di…

Go to tune page >


Timeline

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
Baptist Hymnal 1991 #221
  • Full Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
The Cyber Hymnal #7374
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #438
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
The United Methodist Hymnal #185
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF)
Worship and Rejoice #111

Instances

Instances (1 - 100 of 695)

A Child's Book of Hymns #d17

Page Scan

A Church hymnal #411

Page Scan

A First Book in Hymns and Worship #88

A Hymnal for Friends #37

A Hymnal for Friends #38

Page Scan

A Hymnal for Joyous Youth #3

A Junior Hymnal with Song Stories and Worship Programs #d104

A School Service Book #d180

A Selection of Hymns #d74

Page Scan

A Selection of Spiritual Songs #139

A Service Hymn Book #d159

Page Scan

A Treasury of Catholic Song #219

A Treasury of Hymns, the Best-Loved Hymns, Carols ... #d269

A. M. E. C. Hymnal #11

Abiding Songs #d149

TextPage Scan

African American Heritage Hymnal #186

TextPage Scan

African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal #29

Page Scan

African Methodist Episcopal hymn and tune book #665

Page Scan

Alexander's Hymns No. 3 #225

Page Scan

Alleluia #182

Ambassador Hymnal #206

Page Scan

American Catholic Hymnal #254

American Church and Church School Hymnal #d351

American Church and Church School Hymnal #d348

Page Scan

American Junior Church School Hymnal #13

American Student Hymnal #d363

Page Scan

An Evening Service Book #97

Text

Ancient and Modern #9

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #822

Annotations upon Popular Hymns #1

At Worship, a hymnal for young churchmen #d299

Australian Hymn Book #151

Baptist Hymnal #23

Baptist Hymnal (1975 ed) #44

TextFlexScoreAudio

Baptist Hymnal 1991 #221

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Baptist Hymnal 2008 #141

Page Scan

Best Hymns No. 4 #1

Bible Truth Hymns #5

Book of Common Praise #d642

Page Scan

Boundless Love #3

Cantate Omnes ... with Supplement #d124

Cantica Sacra #d86

Carmina Sacra #d228

Page Scan

Carmina Sanctorum, a selection of hymns and songs of praise with tunes #373

Page Scan

Carmina Sanctorum #373

TextPage Scan

Catholic Book of Worship III #655

Page Scan

Catholic Church Hymnal with Music #163

TextPage Scan

Celebrating Grace Hymnal #345

TextPage Scan

Chalice Hymnal #100

Chapel Service, Cadet Hymns and Songs #d93

Page Scan

Chautauqua Hymnal and Liturgy #1

Page Scan

Childhood Songs #8

Children's Hymnal #58

Children's Praise and Worship #d192

Choral Song #d251

TextPage Scan

Christ in Song #281

Page Scan

Christian Chorals #168

Page Scan

Christian Endeavor Edition of Gospel Hymns No. 6 #124

Christian Hymns and Songs #d230

Christian Hymnways #1

Christian Praise #d379

Page Scan

Christian Praise #37

Page Scan

Christian Service Songs #6

Page Scan

Christian Song #169

Christian Worship and Praise #176

Christian Worship #135

Christian Youth at Song #d101

Christian Youth Chapbook #d47

Christian Youth Hymnal #86

Church and University Hymns #d215

Church Hymnal, Fifth Edition #344

Church Hymnal, Fourth Edition #400

Page Scan

Church Hymnal, Mennonite #172

Church Hymnal, Mennonite #172

Church Hymnal, Mennonite #d599

Church Hymnal, Third Edition #416

Page Scan

Church Hymns and Gospel Songs #15

Page Scan

Church Hymns and Gospel Songs #15

Page Scan

Church Hymns and Tunes #222

Church School Hymnal for Children, Grades 3 to 6 #d141

Church School Hymnal for Children, Grades I-VI #d115

Page Scan

Church Service Hymns #338

Collection of Songs #d7

Page Scan

College Hymnal #117

Page Scan

Columbia University Hymnal #7

TextPage Scan

Common Praise (1998) #2

TextPage Scan

Common Praise #619

Page Scan

Common Praise #142

Page Scan

Community of Christ Sings #89

TextPage Scan

Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #739

Page Scan

Complete Mission Praise #756

Conference Songs #d56

TextPage Scan

CPWI Hymnal #392

Cross and Crown Hymnal, 3rd ed. #d512

Crusader Hymns #41

Crusader Hymns and Hymn Stories #d269

Page Scan

Devotion and Praise #210

Devotional Hymns #d276

Devotional Hymns #d281

Pages

Exclude 604 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us