"Les Anges dans nos compagnes" as this carol is known in French appeared in print in 1842 in Choix de cantiques sur des airs nouveaux by Abbé Lambillote. The tune is probably older than the 19th century but no printed sources have been found. It is included in The New Oxford Book of Carols (#195). In plays surprisingly well on the banjo in G tuning and goes well in a medley with Deck the Halls and Good King Wenceslas which are in this section.