O come, O come Emmanuel
Nov. 29th, 2009 02:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ancientandmodernAdvent! I think it's possibly my favourite season of the Church's year; it certainly has some of the best music. Particularly hymns. The section that runs from about 20 to about 40 in most hymnbooks is solid gold. So many hymns, and there are only four Sundays to fill! I'm spoilt for choice...
The first Sunday of Advent is for the Patriarchs, and so, while I was tempted by Lo, he comes with clouds descending, I'm going to go for a hymn that looks back to the Old Testament, and a people waiting, watching for the Messiah, rather than forward to Revelation and the Second Coming.
The words are a translation/adaptation by the great John Mason Neale of the great O Antiphons, a series of antiphons based on the prophecy of Isaiah and used in the Roman Catholic Church (among others) daily from 17th December to 23rd December. Each begins with a title used for the Messiah; the one most insisted upon is, of course, Emmanuel. God with us. In true Dan Brown tradition, the antiphons have a hidden message; read backwards, the initials spell Ero Cras: Tomorrow, I will come. (Emmanuel - Rex Gentium - Oriens - Clavis David - Radix Jesse - Adonai - Sapienta):
O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.
O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,
qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti:
veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;
qui aperis, et nemo claudit;
claudis, et nemo aperit:
veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,
sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
O Oriens,
splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.
The hymn tends to be a little more confused; some versions cut verses, and some have different verses in a different order. Here, for example, is Hymns Ancient and Modern New Standard:
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here,
until the Son of God appear:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
thine own from Satan's tyranny;
from depths of hell thy people save,
and give them victory o'er the grave:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
our spirits by thine advent here;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
and death's dark shadows put to flight:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Key of David, come,
and open wide our heavenly home;
make safe the way that leads on high,
and close the path to misery:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, thou Lord of Might,
who to thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
in ancient times did give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Root of Jesse's Tree,
an ensign of thy people be;
before thee rulers silent fall;
all peoples on thy mercy call:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Desire of Nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind;
bid thou our sad divisions cease,
and be thyself our King of Peace:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
Some use an entirely different translation. Here are the first two verses according to the New English Hymnal, translated by T.A. Lacey and the Editors:
O come, O come, Emmanuel!
Redeem thy captive Israel,
That into exile drear is gone
Far from the face of God's dear Son.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Wisdom from on high!
Who madest all in earth and sky,
Creating man from dust and clay:
To us reveal salvation's way.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
The tune, however, is invariably Veni Emmanuel, 'adapted from a French Missal' by one Thomas Helmore. It suits the theme well in its stark grandeur. For this is a grand hymn - simple, yet dignified, suited as well to solo voice as it is to packed cathedral. It is so old, so rich in Biblical references, that it belongs to anyone who cares to take it - something that the YouTube video shows rather well - and it approaches God from many angles, past and present.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!
The first Sunday of Advent is for the Patriarchs, and so, while I was tempted by Lo, he comes with clouds descending, I'm going to go for a hymn that looks back to the Old Testament, and a people waiting, watching for the Messiah, rather than forward to Revelation and the Second Coming.
The words are a translation/adaptation by the great John Mason Neale of the great O Antiphons, a series of antiphons based on the prophecy of Isaiah and used in the Roman Catholic Church (among others) daily from 17th December to 23rd December. Each begins with a title used for the Messiah; the one most insisted upon is, of course, Emmanuel. God with us. In true Dan Brown tradition, the antiphons have a hidden message; read backwards, the initials spell Ero Cras: Tomorrow, I will come. (Emmanuel - Rex Gentium - Oriens - Clavis David - Radix Jesse - Adonai - Sapienta):
O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.
O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,
qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti:
veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;
qui aperis, et nemo claudit;
claudis, et nemo aperit:
veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,
sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
O Oriens,
splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.
The hymn tends to be a little more confused; some versions cut verses, and some have different verses in a different order. Here, for example, is Hymns Ancient and Modern New Standard:
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here,
until the Son of God appear:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
thine own from Satan's tyranny;
from depths of hell thy people save,
and give them victory o'er the grave:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
our spirits by thine advent here;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
and death's dark shadows put to flight:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Key of David, come,
and open wide our heavenly home;
make safe the way that leads on high,
and close the path to misery:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, thou Lord of Might,
who to thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
in ancient times did give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Root of Jesse's Tree,
an ensign of thy people be;
before thee rulers silent fall;
all peoples on thy mercy call:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Desire of Nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind;
bid thou our sad divisions cease,
and be thyself our King of Peace:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
Some use an entirely different translation. Here are the first two verses according to the New English Hymnal, translated by T.A. Lacey and the Editors:
O come, O come, Emmanuel!
Redeem thy captive Israel,
That into exile drear is gone
Far from the face of God's dear Son.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Wisdom from on high!
Who madest all in earth and sky,
Creating man from dust and clay:
To us reveal salvation's way.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
The tune, however, is invariably Veni Emmanuel, 'adapted from a French Missal' by one Thomas Helmore. It suits the theme well in its stark grandeur. For this is a grand hymn - simple, yet dignified, suited as well to solo voice as it is to packed cathedral. It is so old, so rich in Biblical references, that it belongs to anyone who cares to take it - something that the YouTube video shows rather well - and it approaches God from many angles, past and present.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!