Angels We Have Heard on High
"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol to the hymn tune "Gloria" from a traditional French song of unknown origin called "Les Anges dans nos campagnes", with paraphrased English lyrics by James Chadwick. The song's subject is the birth of Jesus Christ as narrated in the Gospel of Luke, specifically the scene outside Bethlehem in which shepherds encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child.
Madonna with Child and Angels by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato
Annunciation to the shepherds
The annunciation to the shepherds is an episode in the Nativity of Jesus described in the Bible in Luke 2, in which angels tell a group of shepherds about the birth of Jesus. It is a common subject of Christian art and of Christmas carols.
This late 15th-century Flemish miniature shows the annunciation to the shepherds.
Rembrandt The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds, 1634
Abraham Bloemaert (Manner of) - Announcement to the shepherds c.1600
This 1663 painting by Abraham Hondius has a matching painting of the Adoration of the shepherds.