(‘‘Twas the week before Christmas…’)
As we move into the final days of Advent, I want to share my setting of the historic Great ‘O’ Antiphons. This is a collection of seven short verses used as a prelude to the reciting of the Magnificat at Vespers in the Catholic Church since the sixth or seventh century.
They are:
- 17 December: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
- 18 December: O Adonai (A historic title for God referenced in the book of Exodus)
- 19 December: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
- 20 December: O Clavis David (O Key of David)
- 21 December: O Oriens (O Morning Star)
- 22 December: O Rex Gentium (O King of the People)
- 23 December: O Emmanuel
The first letter of each Antiphon (after the ‘O’) forms an acrostic when looked at in reverse – ‘Ero cras’, which translates as ‘Tomorrow I come’.
Today they are probably best known as the Advent carol ‘O Come O Come Emmanuel’.
In 2017 I was asked to compose a choral work for the final concert of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral’s golden jubilee celebrations, and ‘O Emmanuel’ for choir and orchestra was the result. The recording on YouTube is from the following year. Unfortunately the choir microphones didn’t work for the concert, so the balance of the recording leaves a little to be desired – apologies!
Wishing you all a happy and holy Christmas,
Mike
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Mike Stubbs, Composer 