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New hymn for Advent - Drop Down You Highest Heavens
September 17, 2026 - 1:33pm — Don9of11
The hymn text is drawn from the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, specifically the prayers and scriptural selections for the Advent Time Mass of "The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Annunciation of the Lord." The text is not merely about the Annunciation as a private moment in Nazareth. It repeatedly emphasizes Christ's royal identity:
"wear the regal crown"
"a noble Son"
"The Savior, great Emmanuel"
"the high and Holy One"
The opening paraphrase comes from Rorate caeli ("Drop down, you highest heavens").
I have set the text to the tune of ST. THEODULPH (All Glory, Laud, and Honor), I am looking at this tune through the lens of Christ's entry into the world through the virginal womb as a parallel to His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Both events reveal the coming King, though one in humility and the other in public acclaim. Yet I wonder whether the tune's strong Palm Sunday associations might lead some congregations to think first of Holy Week rather than the mystery of the Incarnation?
For that reason, I have also considered AURELIA ("The Church's One Foundation"), I like the processional strength of this tune and because it doesn't carry the seasonal associations like ST.THEODULPH does.
As always your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
The Annunciation of the Lord
Title: Drop Down, You Highest Heavens
Meter: 76.76 D
Tune: ST. THEODULPH (All Glory, Laud, and Honor) or AURELIA (The Church’s One Foundation)
Verse 1
"Drop down, you highest heavens,
And rain the Just One down;
Let earth bring forth the Savior
To wear the regal crown!"
The Lord has sent His angel
To Galilee's green land,
To tell how human nature
Is shaped by God's own hand.
Verse 2
From David's house a Virgin
Had found the Lord's high grace;
Though troubled by the greeting,
She brought relief to race.
"Behold, you shall conceive Him,
And bear a noble Son;
The Savior, great Emmanuel,
The high and Holy One."
Verse 3
The Virgin heard with pure faith
The secret Word decreed,
That Christ among the peoples
Should come for human need.
The Spirit's power o'ershadowed
Her pure and spotless shrine,
Fulfilling Israel's long hope
In flesh that is divine.
Verse 4 (Doxology)
To God the Father glory,
To Christ, the Word made flesh,
To Holy Spirit praise be,
Who makes our world afresh.
O source of our salvation,
Blest Trinity we raise
With all the ranks of angels
An endless hymn of praise.
"wear the regal crown"
"a noble Son"
"The Savior, great Emmanuel"
"the high and Holy One"
The opening paraphrase comes from Rorate caeli ("Drop down, you highest heavens").
I have set the text to the tune of ST. THEODULPH (All Glory, Laud, and Honor), I am looking at this tune through the lens of Christ's entry into the world through the virginal womb as a parallel to His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Both events reveal the coming King, though one in humility and the other in public acclaim. Yet I wonder whether the tune's strong Palm Sunday associations might lead some congregations to think first of Holy Week rather than the mystery of the Incarnation?
For that reason, I have also considered AURELIA ("The Church's One Foundation"), I like the processional strength of this tune and because it doesn't carry the seasonal associations like ST.THEODULPH does.
As always your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
The Annunciation of the Lord
Title: Drop Down, You Highest Heavens
Meter: 76.76 D
Tune: ST. THEODULPH (All Glory, Laud, and Honor) or AURELIA (The Church’s One Foundation)
Verse 1
"Drop down, you highest heavens,
And rain the Just One down;
Let earth bring forth the Savior
To wear the regal crown!"
The Lord has sent His angel
To Galilee's green land,
To tell how human nature
Is shaped by God's own hand.
Verse 2
From David's house a Virgin
Had found the Lord's high grace;
Though troubled by the greeting,
She brought relief to race.
"Behold, you shall conceive Him,
And bear a noble Son;
The Savior, great Emmanuel,
The high and Holy One."
Verse 3
The Virgin heard with pure faith
The secret Word decreed,
That Christ among the peoples
Should come for human need.
The Spirit's power o'ershadowed
Her pure and spotless shrine,
Fulfilling Israel's long hope
In flesh that is divine.
Verse 4 (Doxology)
To God the Father glory,
To Christ, the Word made flesh,
To Holy Spirit praise be,
Who makes our world afresh.
O source of our salvation,
Blest Trinity we raise
With all the ranks of angels
An endless hymn of praise.
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Drop Down You Highest Heavens
She brought relief to race. – Race alone is incomplete and awkward. Our race? The human race? A journey? (referring to "I have won the race...fought the good fight."). We know how hard it is to fit words into a strict meter that has a fixed amount of syllables. What do I suggest here? This rewrite of verse two better follows the sequence of action and discourse for the Annunciation.
A virgin full of grace
Is told by Gabriel,
"Behold, you shall conceive
The Hope of Israel,
The Savior, great Emmanuel,
The high and Holy One."
Though troubled by the greeting,
She said, "God's will be done."
I have some additional suggestions and will share those later.
Richard Schletty | Schletty Design and Music | www.schletty.com
The angel said to her:
Hi Richard,
Thank you for taking a look at the lyrics and for your helpful suggestions on Verse 2. I was considering your comment in light of Verse 1, where I establish the theme of "human nature," and I wondered whether if by the second verse we had lost sight of which race was being referenced. At the same time, I couldn't shake your critique that the word race felt ambiguous and a bit awkward.
I tried several alternatives, including:
Ultimately, I couldn't get past race. So I said, "Help me, Blessed Mother!" and the line "The angel said to her" immediately came to mind.
What appeals to me about that text is that it moves the narrative directly into Gabriel's dialogue, echoing both the Gospel of Luke and the Church's traditional prayer texts. I realize that "The angel said to her" breaks the rhyme scheme established by "grace," but I found that trade-off worthwhile. The line advances the narrative naturally and introduces Gabriel's words in a way that feels both scriptural and liturgical.
My next thought was whether I had crossed a line. If the phrasing of what Gabriel actually said could be flagged as putting words into the mouth of Gabriel that were not literally spoken? In Catholic liturgy, the congregation generally does not assume the persona of divine persons, such as Christ, or even heavenly messengers. At least, we're not supposed to. But then I remembered The Angelus: where we say "And the Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary."
With that adjustment, Verse 2 now reads:
From David's house a Virgin
Had found the Lord's high grace;
Though troubled by the greeting,
The angel said to her:
"Behold, you shall conceive Him,
And bear a noble Son;
The Savior, great Emmanuel,
The high and Holy One."
I'd love to hear your thoughts, along with any other suggestions you may have whenever you have a chance to share them!
www.howefamily.com
Restoring the rhyme
From David's house a Virgin
Was graced with God's high favor.
Though troubled by the greeting,
The angel spoke to her:
"Behold, you shall conceive a child,
A great and noble Son;
The Savior, our Emmanuel,
The high and Holy One."
One problem still remains, and I should have mentioned it before. You have Mary being troubled by a greeting which has not yet been spoken by the Angel Gabriel. My original suggestion above put things in the proper order.
Richard Schletty | Schletty Design and Music | www.schletty.com
chronological sequence
Hi Richard,
Thank you for sharing these extra thoughts and for your continued deep dive into the lyrics!
Regarding the chronological sequence and the feeling that Mary is troubled before the greeting is spoken: if you look at the overarching sequence found in the first verse ("The Lord has sent His angel, to Galilee's green land..."), the scene is already set in motion. This is the beauty of writing lyrics based on liturgical texts; hymnody acts more like an impressionistic mosaic than a linear stage play, so there isn't strictly a rigid "right or wrong" timeline here.
Opening the second verse with "From David's house a Virgin / Had found the Lord's high grace" in itself implies that the angel's greeting and finding of favor has already been established by the narrative context. I feel quite strongly about keeping this structure because it flows naturally as sacred poetry and prayer.
Thank you again for your sharp eye and for helping polish this hymn!
www.howefamily.com
Verses 3 and 4 of Drop Down, You Highest Heavens
Here are some considerations for verses 3 and 4.
Verse 3
The Virgin heard with pure faith
The secret Word decreed,
"secret Word" does not seem quite right. Based on my research, "hidden mystery" is a more accurate term in relation to the Incarnation. The phrase "secret word decreed" in the context of the Annunciation might align with the writings of the Apostle Paul who spoke of the "mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed". Fun fact: Your posts here at TCS and at Musica Sacra Forum are the only two sources or citations given by Google Search for the phrase "secret Word decreed".
Here are alternate suggestions:
The promised Word decreed
The Word of God decreed
The mystery revealed
That Christ among the peoples
Should come for human need.
Alternate suggestion:
Would satisfy our needs.
Or if rhyming with "revealed":
Would satisfy and heal
A harvest He would yield
The Spirit's power o'ershadowed
Her pure and spotless shrine,
Fulfilling Israel's long hope
In flesh that is divine.
Verse 4 (Doxology)
To God the Father glory,
To Christ, the Word made flesh,
To Holy Spirit praise be,
What are we giving to "Christ, the Word made flesh?" Something is missing.
Suggested change:
Give glory to the Father,
To Christ, the Word made flesh,
And to the Holy Spirit
Who makes our world afresh.
O source of our salvation,
Blest Trinity we raise
With all the ranks of angels
An endless hymn of praise.
Richard Schletty | Schletty Design and Music | www.schletty.com
The secret Word decreed
Hi Richard,
Thank you so much for digging into Verses 3 and 4 with such care!
Regarding the phrase "The secret Word decreed," my inspiration comes directly from the Preface and the Collect (specifically the themes of how Christ was to be born among men and how the divine plan was hidden until revealed). When I posted the lyrics, I didn't include my full line-by-line mapping, but I actually have a direct liturgical source for every single line in the hymn.
For instance, the Doxology lines are mapped straight from the propers:
"To God the Father glory," — From the opening of the Collect ("O God...")
"To Christ, the Word made flesh," — From the Alleluia and Collect ("The Word of God became flesh..." / "...your Word should take flesh")
"To Holy Spirit praise be," — From the concluding Trinitarian formulas ("...in the unity of the Holy Spirit...")
"Who makes our world afresh." — From the Liturgical Introduction ("...for the Incarnation of the Word is the restoration of human nature.")
As I noted in my original post, the text is drawn from the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Advent Mass of the Annunciation. It’s designed to emphasize Christ's royal identity ("wear the regal crown", "a noble Son", "great Emmanuel", "the high and Holy One"), moving the Annunciation beyond a private moment in Nazareth into a cosmic event, bookended by the Rorate caeli opening.
You aren't wrong in your conclusions or suggestions, and I appreciate your sharp eye for grammar and theological phrasing! That is the beauty of writing lyrics from liturgical texts—different pathways can be taken. But seeing how closely my choices mirror the source prayers gives me a lot of confidence in how this holds together.
Thank you again for your incredible partnership in refining this piece!
www.howefamily.com
Achieving prosody
Don, you are welcome. I am glad you are open to observations and suggestions. I may have some lyrics that I'd like you to take a look at.
Collaboration is not always an easy thing. I have tried to encourage it on this site for many years, but way too few are willing to open up to review of their lyrics and/or music. My journey in songwriting collaboration started in 2004 at MacJams(.)com – a website that is now offline. I have been a member of the Minnesota Association of Songwriters for several years, as well as the Minnesota Association of Christian Songwriters. We have song review/critique sessions with both groups.
Having co-written an entire three-year psalter of responsorial psalms in Spanish, I am very much attuned to fidelity to scripture. The suggestions I made above are indeed grammatical corrections, storytelling/narrative adjustments and tips for making the words flow metrically with the music – achieving what is called prosody. Like you, I took great care to adhere to Roman Missal and theological sources.
Richard Schletty | Schletty Design and Music | www.schletty.com