Music is at the heart of Advent and Christmas. Our Advent calendar begins with one of the most well-known and well-loved pieces.
The words of Veni Veni Emmanuel – or to give it its English name, O Come O Come Emmanuel – have travelled their way to us through over 1000 years of turbulent history. The Advent O’s which form the basis of the text speak of Jesus as Wisdom, Dayspring or Dawn, God with us and the fulfilment of promise and expectation.
The rather haunting melody, though going back 500 years, was not attached to these words until 1851. Imagine these words wandering through human life and experience, searching for the right tune to fully express what they want us to embrace. Also, a tune flowing through the centuries looking for the right text partner to give itself to. Only together do they fulfil their true purpose in enabling generations of people to look ahead with deep longing and hope as they cry out from the reality of their human experience: O Come.
The hymn has been sung and performed over the centuries in a huge range of styles: from vast choirs to solo artists, from plainsong chant to punk, from simple folk to soul. It is one of the most widely loved seasonal songs. We could in fact have used up every day in Advent and still not exhausted the number of variations and arrangements. Enjoy!
Sunday 1 December
Today is Advent Sunday. Our piece of music is simple and straightforward. An unaccompanied plainsong type version of O Come, O Come Emmanuel sung in its original Latin. We will leave the more elaborate arrangements until later. For now, just allow the simple melody with its straightforward refrain, which has been said and sung down through the ages, to be your song in whatever circumstances you are in.
Monday 2 December
The version today is by “Future of Forestry”, an indie rock band from California. Led by multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer Eric Owyoung, the band gets its name from a poem by C.S. Lewis: The Future of Forestry.
The poem, just to quote the first line, says, “How will the legend of the age of trees feel when the last tree of England falls?” The poem, which the band seek to reflect in their use of instruments and style, is about drawing attention to that which is important in life: beauty, the natural world, truth, relationships and who we are and where we came from. The Advent hope and future is about the whole created order. It’s a call to all of us.
Tuesday 3 December
Here is the hymn like version of O Come, sung by Kings College Cambridge, conducted by Stephen Cleobury who sadly passed away recently. It’s probably how most of us encounter this song: a little bit more formal and with an added top line (descant) for the last verse. However we sing these words which take us through the Advent O’s (see introduction), they still stir up that cry of longing for things to be better and different. The last verse can leave us feeling hopeful and expectant big time!
Wednesday 4 December
Once a week we’ll have a break from the Advent song of the week, with a selection of last year’s guest highlights, beginning with my dear friend Rosie Richardson, a vicar in training and professional pianist.
Apart from containing some of the most beautiful melodies ever written, this middle movement of Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto stands out to me for a particular skill it requires; to play one’s own melody while listening to and being in conversation with another. Conversation always involves choice: to be open or closed to what the other is saying. Advent reminds us of the choice God made to converse with creation and, in so doing, to open the way for a hopeful future.
Thursday 5 December
This version of our Advent Song by Beat Convention, Carlisle Cathedral choir and the University of Cumbria, includes a Hip-Hop breakdown in the middle of a tender solo. For some it is the despoiling of a lovely sacred tune. For me it highlights the fact that this is a tune which can sustain remodelling and indeed done like this connects both the music and the words for a fresh generation. ‘Emmanuel – God with us’ surely means this. Hope and future here and now in the reality of our lives … Now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSaHHW_6-fo
Friday 6 December
I love this recording with the Dutch-based Margaretha Early Music Consort. Modern instruments can be so refined. These Early music instruments sound so earthy and breathy, and as such can bring out the essence of both the tune and the text. This is about reality. This is about an earthy story. This is about darkness and light. This version has a certain element of “gutsyness” about it. That to me has to be Good News.
Saturday 7 December
The version of O Come, O Come Emmanuel by Citizen Shade has been described as “simply one of the most stunning renditions of any Christian hymn ever recorded”. You may think differently having heard it. It might not be the best, but for me it certainly works. Making words and tunes like this accessible without losing the depth and “soul” of what is being sung is no easy task and I think this duo nail it. We know we are listening to something that is deeply rooted in the reality of human history and experience, and yet speaks to us today of hope and future.