Antiphons for Advent

Yes, it is Advent, the season of expectation, preparation for the birth of the Messiah. As part of my own Advent celebration this year I have completed new musical settings of the great O Antiphons. They are for unison voices, in a chant style. 


The O Antiphons are brief prayers that are recited or sung during the daily office of Vespers on successive evenings from December 17 - 23. In the liturgy they precede and  follow the singing of the Magnificat. 

The precise origin of these texts is unknown.  However, by the 8th and 9th centuries they were in wide use by the church in Rome and monastic communities throughout western Europe. Sometimes called the Great O Antiphons, they have held a special place in the Church’s Advent tradition for centuries. The texts were adapted  in possibly the 12th century to form the basis of the hymn Veni veni Emmanuel. This hymn was translated into English in 1851 as O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.  

  

Each of these antiphons addresses the Messiah (thus the beginning word “O”) by one of the different titles found in the prophecies of the Old Testament, especially those of Isaiah. Each concludes with a  plea for the Messiah to come. 

The first letters of the titles for the Messiah (Sapentia, Adonai, Radix Jesse, Clavis David, Oriens, Rex Gentium, Emmanuel) in Latin are SARCORE. Read backwards, these form the expression EROCRAS, which means "Tomorrow I come" (or "shall be").  Traditionally, feasts were said to begin on the eve of their celebration, so Christmas began at sundown on Christmas Eve. 

I personally feel that tradition needs to be renewed from time to time, so that it continues to speak to us and remain meaningful. We forget what the words of hymns and other commonly used texts are actually saying. That is why I decided to make a new English translation of the original Latin texts. I was surprised at the strength of the original imagery of the texts and how relevant they are for us today. They carry a “punch” that we would be wise to heed. 

This setting of the antiphons may be sung a capella or (as I prefer) with simple chordal accompaniment, e.g. keyboard, harp or guitar. 

Below are the Latin texts of antiphons. Click here for an audio file:  


                             Seven Antiphons for Advent.mp3

Please Note: I am not a professional singer! The score is available on my web site:


                              johnnewellmusic.com  

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 Israël,

qui Moyse 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 Israël,
qui aperis, et nemo claudit,
claudis, et nemo aperuit:
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,
expectatio gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.