Brightest and Best- Kathy Mattea- "Star in the East"

Brightest and Best (Star of the East)

Kathy Mattea on Good News 

Brightest and Best/Star of the East

Shape-Note Gospel by Kathy Mattea on Good News from Southern Harmony 1835;

ARTIST: Brightest and Best (Star of the East) by Kathy Mattea on Good News 
 
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/walker/harmony/files/hymn/Star_in_the_East.html

Tim Erikson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-SbqHjqNsk

CATEGORY: Traditional Shape-Note Gospel;

DATE: 1811; Southern Harmony 1835

RECORDING INFO: 
Brightest and Best

Us - Star in the East

Ritchie, Jean. Carols of All Seasons, Tradition TLP 1031, CD (1959), trk# 6

Kathy Mattea on Good News

OTHER NAMES: "Happy Land"

SOURCES: Southern Harmony; Smithsonian Folkways

NOTES: "Brightest and Best" or "Star in the East" comes from Kathy Mattea on her CD, Good News. Below are two standard versions, Mattea's version uses the 1835
Southern Harmony lyrics which are slightly different.

BRIGHTEST AND BEST OF THE SONS OF THE MORNING- “Reginald Heber (1783-1826)
Words: Re­gi­nald He­ber, 1811. Heber orig­in­al­ly wrote this hymn for the Feast of the Epi­pha­ny. It was first pub­lished in the Christ­ian Ob­serv­er in 1811, but did not ap­pear in hym­nals un­til af­ter He­ber’s death.

Music: Morn­ing Star, James P. Hard­ing, 1892, the tune was writ­ten to be used at the Gif­ford Hall Mis­sion in Lon­don. Al­ter­nate tunes: Epiphany (Thrupp), Jo­seph F. Thrupp, in Psalms and Hymns for Pub­lic Wor­ship, by Turle, 1853; Epiphany (Wes­ley), Sam­u­el S. Wesley, in Kem­ble’s Se­lect­ion, 1864 Lieb­ster Im­man­u­el, Him­mels-Lust, 1679; adapted by Jo­hann S. Bach; St. Ninian, John B. Dykes, 1866;

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness and lend us Thine aid;
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.

Cold on His cradle the dewdrops are shining;
Low lies His head with the beasts of the stall;
Angels adore Him in slumber reclining,
Maker and Monarch and Savior of all!

Say, shall we yield Him, in costly devotion,
Odors of Edom and offerings divine?
Gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean,
Myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine?

Vainly we offer each ample oblation,
Vainly with gifts would His favor secure;
Richer by far is the heart’s adoration,
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

Star in the East- Southern Harmony no. 16
First Line: Hail the blest morn, see the great Mediator 
Source: Baptist Harmony, p. 35 
Meter: 10, 11 

1. Hail the blest morn, see the great Mediator,
Down from the regions of glory descend!
Shepherds, go worship the babe in the manger,
Lo, for his guard the bright angels attend.

Refrain: Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid;
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid. 

2. Cold on his cradle the dewdrops are shining;
Low lies his bed with the beasts of the stall;
Angels adore him, in slumbers reclining,
Wise men and shepherds before him do fall.

3. Say, shall we yield him, in costly devotion,
Odors of Eden and offerings divine?
Gems from the mountain, and pearls from the ocean,
Myrrh from the forest, and gold from the mine?

4. Vainly we offer each ample oblation;
Vainly with gold we his favor secure;
Richer by far is the heart's adoration;
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

BRIGHTEST AND BEST- Kathy Mattea on Good News 
 
1. Hail the blest morn, see the great Mediator,
Down from the regions of glory descend!
Shepherds, go worship the babe in the manger,
Lo, for his guard the bright angels attend.

Refrain: Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid;
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid. 

2. Cold on his cradle the dewdrops are shining;
Low lies his bed with the beasts of the stall;
Angels adore him, in slumbers reclining,
Wise men and shepherds before him do fall.

Refrain: