December 2023

Emmanuel,God with Us

Greetings Singers!

You likely have a full plate this month, singing, leading, perhaps preparing services and balancing special times with family and friends as well as obligations and even a little stress or dread.

On this first week of December, I am reminded of one of my favorite carols, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel". With it's haunting melody and words of lament, it offers a reminder for us to rejoice; for God, our Emmanuel, has come to rescue and save. With each verse a new "O" - brings a sense of hope!

Here I share some history, and a link to listen as you pray and sing through this beloved hymn. Reference verses: Isaiah 8:8; Isaiah 22:22, Luke 1:78, Isaiah 11:1

May we invite Emmanuel, God with Us, into our season, our preparations, our own lives this week. Take a moment and enjoy His Presence with you.

History: "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"

There are several songs called the “O” songs that name Christ by different biblical titles: Wisdom, Adonai, The Root of Jesse, the Key of David, Dayspring or Radiant dawn, King of Nations , and Emmanuel.

Anglican priest and hymn writer John Mason Neale (1818–1866) compiled and translated many of these hymns. In 1851, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” appeared in Medieval Hymns and Sequences with Neale’s notation: “This Advent hymn is little more than a versification of some of the Christmas antiphons commonly called the O’s.”

If you think “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” sounds like a Gregorian chant, you’re right. Each verse starts with the exclamation “O” and is chanted as part of the Liturgy of the Hours by Roman Catholic and Anglican communities around the world.

The lyrics go back to at least the twelfth century, and the melody as far back as the fifteenth century.

Although the song is sung in many languages, the same melody is used everywhere; the tune was first put to the lyrics when it was translated into English.

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