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Lo! The Eastern Magi Rise / Lo! The Eastern Sages Rise

[ Roud 17728 , 8360 ; Ballad Index Pet073 ; trad.]

The Coal Aston Carollers from North-East Derbyshire sang Lo! The Eastern Magi Rise (Roud 17728) in 1995 in a recording made by Ian Russell. It was released in 1998 on the Smithsonian Folkways CD English Village Carols: Traditional Christmas Carolling from the Southern Pennines. Ian Russell commented in the album’s booklet:

Arguably the Coal Aston Carollers’ favourite carol. The music is by Samuel Stanley of Birmingham and dates from 1802-1805. The lyrics are by Jehoiada Brewer and were written while he was a Congregational minister in Sheffield between 1783 and 1798. It is also sung at Poolsbrook in Derbyshire and Padstow in Cornwall (Worden 1971). In Thorpe Hesley and Green Moor in South Yorkshire and Mastin Moor in Derbyshire the words are sung to the tune Eastern Star, which is not to be confused with John Hall’s tune of the same name sung at Castleton.

Singers of the BACCApipes Folk Club sang the related Lo! The Eastern Sages Rise (Roud 8360) on their 1999 CD Baccapella.

Magpie Lane recorded Lo! The Eastern Sages Rise for their 2006 CD of carols, songs and tunes for the Christmas Season, Knock at the Knocker, Ring at the Bell. They also sang it on 8 December 2012 at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Dunstan, Woking. This recording was used as part the of 10 December 2012 entry of Andy Turner’s project A Folk Song a Week.

Lyrics

The Coal Aston Carollers sing Lo! The Eastern Magi Rise

Lo! The Eastern magi rise
At a signal in the skies.
𝄆 Brighter than the brightest gem
Shines the Star of Bethlehem. 𝄇

Now the holy wise men meet
at the royal infant’s feet.
𝄆 Off’rings rich are made by them
To the Star of Bethlehem. 𝄇

Night’s terrific shades give way,
Open dawns the promis’d day.
𝄆 And on us as well as them
Shines the Star of Bethlehem. 𝄇

Magpie Lane sing Lo! The Eastern Sages Rise

Lo! the Eastern sages rise,
At a signal in the skies,
Brighter than the brightest gem;
’Tis the Star of Bethlehem.
Brighter than the brightest gem;
’Tis the Star of Bethlehem.

Balaam’s mystic words appear
Full of light divinely clear;
And the import wrapp’d in them,
’Tis the Star of Bethlehem.
Brighter than the brightest gem;
’Tis the Star of Bethlehem.

Joyful let us quickly rise;
As the signal’s in the skies,
David’s rod of Jesse’s stem,
’Tis the Star of Bethlehem.
Brighter than the brightest gem;
’Tis the Star of Bethlehem.

(repeat first verse