Gabriel's Message
Lyrics and Sheet Music
Gabriel's Message lyrics tell the story of Gabriel's visit to Mary the mother of Jesus.
Download free here this very beautiful song in sheet music for piano, voice, and other instruments.
Please scroll down the page to find the links to the sheet music PDFs.
Here is page two:
(If you are interested in a vocal duet arrangement of "Gabriel's Message: The Angel Gabriel from heaven came..." you may check it out at my other website.)
Do the lyrics of this song truly reflect the message of Luke chapter one, which describes the angel Gabriel's visit to Mary, a young virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph?
1. 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 favored lady. Gloria!
Compare the book of Luke of the Christian Bible, the New Testament, chapter 1:
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
I think the "Most highly favored lady" appellation in the song lyrics might distress some people who think it borders on worship of Mary.
I don't feel that way myself; to me it seems like an accurate description of the honor of being the human mother of Jesus, the Son of God!
But if it does bother you, the designation could be changed when you sing it to "Thou highly favored lady."
Here is a closeup of page one of the above arrangement:
This arrangement has detailed fingering for players who find it easier to learn new music with this help, but I have also made a second version of this arrangement that has no fingering, downloadable below, for those who prefer to make their own fingering choices.
Here is a closeup of page two. You can see that the arrangement breaks out of static, close chords into a flowing broken chord pattern - it makes for a welcome change of pace with each repetition:
Also on page two are the next three verses. Do they tell the birth narrative accurately, do you think?
2. For know a blessed mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honor thee.
Thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,
Most highly favored lady. Gloria!
To find the answer we must go to Matthew 1:18-23 of the Christian Bible, the New Testament:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Sometimes "Emmanuel" is spelled "Immanuel."
Here is a lead sheet version, in two keys, E minor and A minor.
This beautiful song has a slightly medieval feeling that gives it weight and an atmosphere of remoteness.
Even accompanied by plain chords, as shown in the lead sheets, the song is lovely.
The lyrics of verse three record Mary's response to the angel's message. How gracious is the request, that waits for her decision? Always with God, our freedom to choose is protected.
3. Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head
"To me be as it pleaseth God," she said,
"My soul shall laud and magnify his holy name."
Most highly favored lady. Gloria!
And the Bible records in Luke 1:38:
And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
4. Of her, Emmanuel, the Christ was born
In Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn
And Christian folk throughout the world will ever say:
"Most highly favored lady," Gloria!
In Luke 1:46-48, we read:
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
The piano arrangement links:
Download Gabriel's Message lyrics and music for piano with fingering
Download Christmas carol song for piano without fingering
The lead sheet links:
Download Gabriel's Message lead sheet in Am
Download lead sheet in E minor (shown above)
The lyrics alone:
Download The Angel Gabriel lyrics
Thank you for visiting!
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Hi, I'm Dana! (Say that like "Anna".) I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and this newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.
Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.
I also happen to love the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Christian worldview that portrays The Great War in the heavens, in which we here on earth are destined to be a part.
You can find out more about the reason for this website at the Home page.