Arrangement of Angels from the Realms of Glory

Hello Dulcimer World,

The second week of Advent is upon us and thus, its time for another free Christmas dulcimer arrangement! This week we will be looking at the hymn “Angels from the realms of glory”. It’s one of my fav’s and was written by the hymn writer, James Montgomery. He is known for writing other great hymns like “God is my strong salvation”, “0 Spirit of the Living God” and “Go to Dark Gethsemane".

I wrote two different arrangements of this hymn; a regular DAD arrangement and another that requires a 1+ fret. Both sound great and I hope you all enjoy! Below is an article about James Montgomery’s life and work! Hope you enjoy.

“James Montgomery (1771-1854) was just six years old when heard of the death of both his parents who had been in Barbados on a missionary trip. He spent the remainder of his childhood being raised within the school system in Ireland, where he did not excel academically. As a teenager, James was placed in an apprenticeship position to a Baker. He grew frustrated with that position and so ran away to Sheffield, England. There he took on various jobs to support himself, while trying to find his niche.

In his early 20s, James was hired to work for a politically active newspaper, the Sheffield Register. James found that he loved to write, and that he was good at it. When the owner of the paper had to flee the country in order to avoid imprisonment, James purchased the newspaper, after which he himself was imprisoned twice for political articles that did not sit well with the governing authorities.

Throughout all his ups and downs, James remained a devout Christian. He remembered well the lessons taught to him by his missionary parents. He chose to follow in their footsteps and to champion the cause of Christ. His newspaper was his pulpit to speak out against social and moral injustice. And in that same paper he published his original hymns of praise. Angels From the Realms of Glory appeared in print on Christmas Eve, 1816.” (Article from http://www.faithclipart.com)

-Ben