Pure as Carmel's Snows and Lovely / Mother of Mount Carmel Hear

This is a hymn about Mary, under her title Our Lady of Mt Carmel.

It was written for the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mt Carmel in the late 19th century. More recently it has been used - unattributed - as a school-song in an number of schools and colleges which have Our Lady of Mt Carmel as patron.

The author is American Roman Catholic poet, short story writer and biographer, Eleanor C Donnelly (1838–1917).

The hymn was included in Donnelly's book Crowned with Stars, published by Notre Dame University, Indiana, USA in 1881 (ref). Later it was published in The Ordinary of the Mass and a Complete Manual of Hymns for Parochial Schools‎, 1935, Public Press, Philadelphia, USA.

There are some variations in the words in different places: some (seeminly including Google) believe that the first line is "Pure as Carmel snows and lovely), while many schools have altered the chorus.

Simple sheet music (melody only) is available here.

Downloads

PowerPoint slides

Examples

School choir with electronic organ:

Small group with backing track:

Lyrics

Pure as Carmel's snows and lovely

As the first fair morning shines
Crowned with stars of changeless splendour,
Hail! thou mother-maid sublime!
Hail, that hallowed Mount of Carmel
Rearing up its stately height
Emblematic of thy graces
Glowing in immortal light.

Chorus:

Mother of Mt. Carmel hear
Shades are falling, night is near
Mother of Mt. Carmel hear
Shades are falling night is near

Alternative chorus (especially for school-songs)

Mother of Mount Carmel hear;
Bless your children here so dear.
Mother of Mount Carmel hear;
Bless your children far and near.

Raise thy voice for us to Jesus
Plead from him a love like thine
Raise thy pure hands up to bless us,
As we gather round thy shrine.
Bless, O bless us now and ever
Thou who once this dark earth trod
And when dying waft our spirits
To our home in Heav’n above.

From the wide wastes of the ocean,
Where the bird-like vessels sail
From the deep haunts of the city,
Where the weak and tempted wail;
In the battle, in the chapel;
From the bondsman and the free,
This sweet incense still is wafted
This sweet prayer swept up to thee.