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It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Edmund Sears’ words (1849) to Richard Storrs Willis’ tune (1850): a flowing melody in six that opens with a leap of a sixth, and a third line that drops an octave on “Peace on the earth.”
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear sets Edmund Sears' words from 1849 to the tune Richard Storrs Willis wrote in 1850, the setting most sung in the United States. The melody flows in six and opens with a leap of a major sixth. In the third line it drops a whole octave on “Peace on the earth” and climbs back step by step through two notes outside the key. You sing 66 notes in about 40 seconds.
How to do it
- Use the count-in to feel two long beats per bar; the piano plays the first line alone, then accompanies you.
- Before you sing, hear the sixth from “It” up to “came” and start right on the top note.
- Sing the two-note syllables like “glo-” and “song” as one smooth movement.
- After “Peace on,” drop an octave on “the earth,” then climb in small, even steps to “good will.”
Coach's tip: Hear the sixth from “It” to “came” before you start. On “the earth,” land the octave below softly and climb back in small, exact steps – two of them are raised notes outside the key.
What to watch out for
The opening leap of a sixth often lands flat; hear it first and don't scoop up to it. In the third line, the two raised notes on the way up from the octave drop are easy to sing in the key instead, which sounds wrong against the piano, so listen closely there. The long notes at the end of each line like to sag in pitch; keep the air moving. Don't hurry the flowing rhythm.
Who it's for
Level 2, for singers who can manage a sixth and an octave and want a flowing, legato melody. Warm up with Interval: major sixth and Interval: octave. No program lists it. The daily training brings it up more often if you chose the Classical & choir style. Sing it in the main block or as the last melody of a session.
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