Each day during the season of Advent in 2021, Rev. Matt is sharing a little bit about a piece of music for this holy and rich season, a season and a body of music that so often gets lost in the rush toward "pre-Christmas".

Days 11 to 20

Days 21 and forward  |  Days 1 to 10

Day 20 - December 17: "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"

When most people think of music for "Advent", perhaps the single item that most commonly comes to mind is the quintessential Advent hymn, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel".  This piece is so well-known and so associated with the time leading up to Christmas, in fact, that it is the one Advent piece often thought of as among the collection of beloved "Christmas carols".  

The hymn as we know it today is a translation and paraphrase of a set of Latin texts that go back as far as at least the 800s AD known as the "O Antiphons".  These 'antiphons' (i.e., refrains) were sung immediately before and after the singing of the Magnificat (the Song of Mary from Luke 1:45-55) in the daily evening prayer service called Vespers, on the 7 days prior to Christmas Eve (so, starting on December 17th).  Each of the antiphons is based on of a title given to the Messiah, mostly from Hebrew scripture, together with a prayer addressed to Christ in each respective role (O Wisdom, O Lord, O Root of Jesse, O Key of David, O Morning Star, O King, O Emmanuel).  Each verse of the hymn we now know as "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" is a reflection of each of those seven Vespers antiphons.

The tune used for "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" likewise originates in the medieval Latin plainchant traditions; it is not, however, based on the tune used for singing the O Antiphons.  The tune can be traced back as far as at least the 1400s, but what text it was originally intended to be paired with is unknown.  

Day 19 - December 16:  "People, Look East"

With apologies for another belated post, our stopping point on this Advent music journey gives us the Advent carol "People, Look East".  The words of this Advent carol were written by Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965), an English author known for her imaginative books for children and her popular hymn text "Morning Has Broken".  The words were specially crafted by Farjeon, at the request of the editors of the monumental 'Oxford Book of Carols', in order to go with an existing old French carol tune.  That carol tune, BESANÇON, dates back at least as far as the early 1600s, if not earlier. The eastward-looking posture called for by the words reflect a longstanding Judeo-Christian believe that the revelation and accomplishment of God's purposes would come from that direction, reflecting the universal human experience of daily sunrise as well as certain biblical prophecies.  

Appearing at number 9 in 'Voices United', we at CUC will be singing "People, Look East" as our opening hymn this coming Sunday.

For our video today, we simply drive up the road a few kilometres and hop on across the bridge to join our neighbours at Golden Ears United Church in Maple Ridge, as musicians from their congregation lead us in song.

Day 18 - December 15:  "Thou Shalt Know Him" by Mark Sirett

Canadian composer Mark Sirett, based in Kingston, Ontario, is behind the stunning homophonic choral work "Thou Shalt Know Him", notable for its simplicity and harmonic interest.  The text comes from an anonymous poet.

Thou shalt know him when he comes 
Not by any din of drums, 
Not his manners nor his airs,
Nor by anything he wears.

Thou shalt know him when he comes,
Not by crown or by his gown,
But his coming known shall be
By the holy harmony which his coming makes in thee.
Thou shalt know him when he comes.

Days 15, 16, & 17 - December 12, 13, & 14: "Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus" (three different tunes)

With apologies for the delayed posts for days 15 and 16, today we feature the well-known Advent hymn "Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus"... in three different settings.

Written by early Methodist movement co-founder Charles Wesley, the text of this hymn is familiar across denominational traditions among English-speaking worshippers.  Hymnologist Carl Daw points out that "Because this text is so familiar and so anticipated as a musical indicator of the Advent season, those who sing it can well miss the multiple perspectives from which its imagery is drawn.  In the very first line, for example, the name of the long-awaited One is already known, indicating familiarity not only with the angelic announcements ... but also with the eschatological hope. ... Messianic expectation is juxtaposed with remembrance of Jesus' teaching ... just as universal, communal, and individual concerns are made concentric. ... This is not so much a hymn about Nativity as it is about Incarnation ... [with] an awareness here that the larger mystery being celebrated leads to the sending of the Holy Spirit and comes full circle in Christ's reign in glory, when God's people will find freedom from fear and sin, when hope will be fulfilled, and when human hearts will be aligned with God's saving purposes."  (Carl P. Daw Jr., Glory to God: A Companion, Westminster John Knox Press, 2016, pg. 82-83)

Among mainline Protestants here in Canada and elsewhere in North America, at least three different hymn tunes are commonly paired with this text for congregational singing:  STUTTGART, HYFRYDOL, and JEFFERSON.  (In England, CROSS OF JESUS is also a common pairing.)

In the current hymnals of both The United Church of Canada (Voices United, pub. 1996) and the Anglican Church of Canada (Common Praise, pub. 1998), the text appears with the tune STUTTGART, which is also quite a common pairing in the US.  This tune originates in an early 1700s German psalm tune, adapted into its familiar form by Anglican priest and hymnwriter W. H. Havergal in 1847.

In Voices United, the information at the bottom of the hymn suggests as an alternate setting the noble Welsh hymn tune by Rowland Hugh Prichard, HYFRYDOL, which is the tune with which this text appeared in The United Church's first hymnal, The Hymnary, published in 1930.  Here in Canada, HYFRYDOL (pronounced hiv-ruh-doll) is still the primary pairing used by the recent hymnals of The Presbyterian Church in Canada and the Mennonite Church Canada. Like the previous tune, HYFRYDOL is also a very common choice in the US.

Finally, among Lutherans in both Canada and the US, the tune JEFFERSON has become the one used with this text, ever since the publication of Lutheran Book of Worship in 1978.  JEFFERSON is a tune that originates in the so-called "Sacred Harp" or "shape-note singing" traditions of the United States in the early 1800s.  For the most part, the Lutheran tradition here in North America appears to be unique in its adoption of JEFFERSON as the tune for this text; however, the sheer size of the combined membership of the two main Lutheran denominations in the US (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod) means that this text-and-tune pairing is nevertheless a widely-sung one.

Which tune do you think fits this text best?

Day 14 - December 11:  "Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn" by Marty Haugen

Tomorrow brings us to the 3rd Sunday of Advent, which has long been known as "Gaudete" or "Joy" Sunday. This stems from traditions going back to medieval times, wherein the worship liturgy on the 3rd Sunday of Advent would start with the introit, or entrance song, that begins "Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete" -- "Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, rejoice" -- quoted from Philippians 4:4.  (In the modern 3-year lectionary, Philippians 4:4-7 just happens to be the epistle reading appointed in Year C for the 3rd Sunday of Advent, although we at CUC will only be using the Old Testament and Gospel readings tomorrow.)  In the customs around the Advent wreath that developed among some Protestant traditions in North America in the latter parts of the 20th century, the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love have become associated with the four Sundays of Advent, with the "joy" theme assigned to the 3rd Sunday to match the more ancient tradition of "Gaudete".

A rather fitting match with the theme of "joy" and "rejoicing" about Christ's coming is the modern hymn "Awake! Awake and Greet the New Morn" by Marty Haugen.  Even the hymntune to the piece is known as REJOICE, REJOICE, matching the first words of the final verse.  As noted back with the selection chosen for December 2nd, Haugen is a contemporary liturgical musician and composer of Lutheran background from the United States, and has written a vast body of music, much of which especially came into popularity within the Roman Catholic tradition as part of the blossoming of piano- and guitar-based folk-style repertoire in the wake of the reforms of Vatican II.  A number of his more substantial hymn pieces have become popular among mainline Protestants in North America, as well; Haugen is the author behind CUC favourite "All Are Welcome (Let us Build a House)", More Voices #1.

"Awake! Awake and Greet the New Morn" is found in numerous North American hymnals from the mid-1990s onward, including volumes from Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, and ecumenical/non-denominational traditions.  We at CUC will be singing it as our closing hymn tomorrow.

Awake! Awake, and greet the new morn,
for angels herald its dawning.
Sing out your joy, for soon he is born,
behold! the Child of our longing.
Come as a baby weak and poor,
to bring all hearts together,
he opens wide the heavenly door
and lives now inside us forever.

To us, to all in sorrow and fear,
Emmanuel comes a-singing;
his humble song is quiet and near,
yet fills the earth with its ringing;
music to heal the broken soul
and hymns of lovingkindness.
The thunder of his anthems rolls
to shatter all hatred and violence.

In darkest night his coming shall be,
when all the world is despairing,
as morning light so quiet and free,
so warm and gentle and caring.
Then shall the mute break forth in song,
a lame shall leap in wonder,
the weak be raised above the strong,
and weapons be broken asunder.

Rejoice, rejoice, take heart in the night.
Though dark the winter and cheerless,
the rising sun shall crown you with light;
be strong and loving and fearless.
Love be our song and love our prayer
and love our endless story;
may God fill every day we share
and bring us at last into glory.

Day 13 - December 10:  "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" ("Saviour of the Nations, Come")

An early and enduring favourite in the Lutheran tradition, the hymn "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" was one of the earliest Protestant hymns for the season of Advent, having been written by the great Protestant reformer Martin Luther himself in 1523.  Luther's hymn, however, had much more ancient origins, being a translation into German of the 4th-century Latin hymn "Veni Redemptor gentium" (Come, Redeemer of the nations) by Ambrose of Milan.  English-speaking worshippers in many traditions in the United States are familiar with an English translation of Luther's German version, by the title "Saviour of the Nations, Come."

Martin Luther is also responsible for the tune for this hymn.  Although based on the medieval plainchant melody that was used to sing the Latin text, Luther's adaptations were significant enough that the tune takes on its own identity and character distinct from the older plainchant.  

In any version -- Latin, German, or English -- the hymn makes a strong plea for Christ to come, and then moves on through a number of verses praising Christ.  

Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland,
der Jungfrauen Kind erkannt,
dass sich wunder alle Welt,
Gott solch Geburt ihm bestellt.

Saviour of the nations, come;
virgin's son, make here your home.
Marvel now, O heaven and earth,
that the Lord chose such a birth.

Here is a wonderful performance of the hymn, beginning with a simple and plaintive unison rendition of the tune, and then moving forward through meditative and then increasingly-jazzy improvisatory variations... well worth watching to the end, as each subsequent surprise is revealed.

Day 12 - December 9:  "Prepare the Way, O Zion"

Continuing with the theme of the call to prepare the way, the popular and engaging Advent hymn "Prepare the Way, O Zion" (also known as "Prepare the Royal Highway") sings with words derived from Isaiah 40:3-5 -- the passage usually quoted in association with John the Baptist -- as well as Psalm 24:7-10.  Written by Frans Mikael Franzen, a pastor (and eventually bishop) in the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden, it is sung to a cheerful Swedish melody (BEREDEN VÄG FÖR HERRAN) that was originally associated with a table grace. 

Appearing on page 882 of 'Voices United' (in the psalter and scripture paraphrase hymn section like the other Isaiah 40 based Advent hymn, "Comfort, Comfort Now My People," that was shared last week), "Prepare the Way, O Zion" will be our opening hymn this coming Sunday in worship.

Prepare the way, O Zion, your Christ is drawing near!
Let every hill and valley a level way appear.
Greet One who comes in glory, foretold in sacred story.
O blest is Christ that came in God’s most holy name.

Christ brings God’s rule, O Zion; he comes from heaven above.
His rule is peace and freedom, and justice, truth, and love.
Lift high your praise resounding, for grace and joy abounding. 
O blest is Christ that came in God’s most holy name.

Fling wide your gates, O Zion, your Saviour’s rule embrace.
And tidings of salvation proclaim in every place.
All lands will bow rejoicing, their adoration voicing.
O blest is Christ that came in God’s most holy name.

Here is a lovely piano-instrumental meditation on this hymn. 

And here's a more-ordinary congregationally-sung version of the piece.

Day 11 - December 8:  "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord" by Stephen Schwartz

Staying with John the Baptist, we hear his call to "prepare the way of the Lord" ringing out from the off-broadway smash hit musical, "Godspell", which was inspired by the gospel according to Matthew. 

As with the gospels' accounts, the plotline of "Godspell" begins with the call-to-attention issued by John the Baptist.  In Advent, our spiritual work is to examine what it is that we, ourselves, need to do to "prepare the way of the Lord," both within ourselves and in the world.

"Godspell," which had its first production in 1971, began as a project by drama students at Carnegie Mellon University and then moved to the off-off-Broadway theatre 'La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club' in the East Village of Manhattan.  The show represents another example of the long history of retelling the gospel story in a contemporary idiom -- in this case, that of the early 1970s, so-called "hippie" culture, and urban New York City.  Even with the re-contextualization, the story told by "Godspell" is remarkably conventional and close to the biblical accounts, at least in comparison to the contemporaneous "Jesus Christ Superstar".

 

Days 21 and forward  |  Days 1 to 10