Advent or Christmas Hymns--a Poll

Here at The Church Geek: http://www.thechurchgeek.com/archives/952

Rejoice!

Go to the Advent calendar here, and click on "18."

I recently seemed to have made statements, in the press, to the effect that there is a dearth of Advent hymns and new ones really need to be written (preferably by me). But I should nuance these claims a little bit.

I think there are a lot of great Advent hymns. Some of my favorites:

• Comfort, comfort, ye my people: Prophecy by Isaiah, translation by Catherine Winkworth, to both of whom we owe so much. Rockin' melody with that German baroque off-beat to really keep you on your toes.
• Wake O Wake and Sleep No Longer: Bach, Wachet Auf. Very loose translation by the venerable Christopher Idle, my only currently working hymnographic hero, with references to the liturgy. Uses the splendid device of near rhyme throughout--I take the incompleteness to be a sign of openness to the eschaton. Just an excellently fun hymn to sing.
• Lo, How a Rose e'er Blooming: For some reason this is usually taken as an Advent hymn rather than a Christmas hymn, although the Nativity has already been realized "has sprung." Maybe it seems Advent-ish because it is full of Old Testament references--the kind of prophecies that fill the Advent lectionary.
• The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns: quite possibly my very favorite, because of the many happy marriages it contains. Text and tune (Morning Song), themes of the First and Second Comings, the striking sounds of KING, COME, on the martial beats of the tune. The tune begins in the minor tones of Advent(expectation), walks up the hill to the major (realization) then rests back on the level ground of the minor to await the Second Coming. I like the version best that has five verses, the first, third and fifth of which begin, The King shall come. Ba dum ba dum ba dum. Then for the big finish: Come QuiCKly, King of Kings. Ba ba ba baaaaa!!

There are plenty more. But it is worth saying that except for Rev. Idle's translation of a 16th century text, all the really good Advent hymns are at least a century old. I don't count People Look East, which is mighty catchy but really more about us getting ready for dinner than about God changing everything.

The O Antiphons

O Wisdom!

The date we've all been waiting for is here: December 17th. We are entering into the home stretch of Advent preparations and mark the turning point with a daily festival of poetry, the O Antiphons. Every day from now till the 23rd we have a new antiphon, sung at the Alleluia of the Mass and at the Magnificat during Vespers. Each one calls Jesus, the coming Messiah, by a different name, referring to some aspect of the salvation that God has in store for us through him. We have been patient for a long time; now is the beginning of our active longing.

O Wisdom!
O Adonai!
O Root of Jesse!
O Key of David!
O Dawn of the East!
O King of the Gentiles!
O Emmanuel!

He is Wisdom and Lord and Source and King, Daystar, Ruler of the Whole Earth, God-with-us. And he comes to save.

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.