"Gabriel's Message" or "The angel Gabriel from heaven came" is a Basque

Basque language

Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...

 Christmas folk carol

Christmas carol

A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...

 about the Annunciation

Annunciation

The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...

 to the Virgin Mary by the archangel

Archangel

An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...

 Gabriel

Gabriel

In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...

 that she would become the mother of Jesus Christ the Son of God

Son of God

"Son of God" is a phrase which according to most Christian denominations, Trinitarian in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "God the Son"...

. It quotes the biblical account of that event (Luke

Gospel of Luke

The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...

, Chapter 1, verses 26-38) and Mary's Magnificat

Magnificat

The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...

 (Luke 1.46-55) with the opening lines:

The angel Gabriel from heaven came,

his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;

"All hail", said he, "thou lowly maiden Mary,

most highly favoured lady." Gloria.

It was collected by Charles Bordes

Charles Bordes

Charles Bordes was a French music teacher and composer.-Timeline:Bordes studied pianoforte with Antoine François Marmontel and composition with César Franck. He was organist and maître de chapelle at Nogent-sur-Marne from 1887 to 1890...

 and then paraphrased into English by Sabine Baring-Gould

Sabine Baring-Gould

The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould was an English hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1240 publications, though this list continues to grow. His family home, Lew Trenchard Manor near Okehampton, Devon, has been preserved as he had it...

. It is commonly performed in an arrangement by Edgar Pettman

Edgar Pettman

Edgar Pettman was an English organist, choral conductor and music editor. Born in Dunkirk, Kent, in 1881 he entered the Royal Academy of Music where he was taught under George Alexander Macfarren. He was organist at a number of London churches, including St Mary's, Kilburn and St James's Church,...

 published in his 1892 book Modern Christmas Carols.

The use of the lilting phrase "Most highly favoured lady" made it the favourite carol of Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford

Bishop of Oxford

The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford...

.

Recordings

Notable modern interpretations include a track on Sting's single "Russians

Russians (song)

"Russians" is a song by Sting, from his debut solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, released in 1985. It was also released as a single. Sting cautions about the repercussions of the Cold War including the mutually assured destruction doctrine...

" (1985) and on his album If On a Winter's Night... (2009).