Unto us a Child is Given

This is a metrical Christmas hymn. The words are based initially on Isaiah 9:6-7. It was written to be sung to a standard hymn tune, as part of the Divine Office (the prayer of the church).

It is attributed to the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey in England: a specific author has not bee identified. It was first published in their hymn-book in 1971.

With meter 87.87, tunes it has been set to include:

DRAKES BOUGHTON by Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
STUTTGART from the Psalmodia Sacra (1715), attributed to Christian Friedrich Witt (1715)
An as-yet-unidentified tune by Dutch composer Daniel Rouwkema (b. 1974).

Downloads

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PowerPoint slides

An instrumental of DRAKES BROUGHTON

Instrumental of STUGGART

Examples

Singer with organ, tune DRAKES BROUGHTON

Duet with choir and organ, setting by Daniel Rouwkema

Instrumental - keyboard with sax? voice for the melody

Instrumental - organ

Lyrics

The lyrics are copyright so cannot be reproduced here. But they are currently available on this website. A rough outline is:

Unto us a Child is given,
Christ our Savior bring release;
Counselor, Eternal Father,
God made man, and Prince of Peace.

Born of Mary, gentle virgin,
By the Spirit of the Lord;
From eternal ages spoken:
This the mighty Father's Word.

Love and truth in him shall flower,
From his strength their vigour take.
Branches that are bare shall blossom;
Joy that slept begins to wake.

Praise the everlasting Father,
and the Lord, his only Son;
Praise them with the Holy Spirit,
Perfect Trinity in One.