If you want a simple way to sing the ‘O antiphons’ for the days of Advent from 17th to 23rd December, read on. Of course, you could go to Evensong at King’s Cambridge or find them on YouTube. Fifty years ago we students at the Theological College at Kelham though nothing of singing them each day before and after the Magnificat, but I suppose they would be too ‘difficult’ nowadays.
Here are the antiphons for each day. They date from around the 6th century, and address the Lord Jesus by a series of titles from the Old Testament of the long-awaited Messiah.
17 December: O Sapientia – O Wisdom
18 December: O Adonai
19 December: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
20 December: O Clavis David (O Key of David)
21 December: O Oriens (O Dawn of the East)
22 December: O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)
23 December: O Emmanuel
The Roman lectionary uses the O Antiphons as the Gospel Acclamations at the Mass for each of these days. And in most parishes the Acclamation would be said (which is almost as bad as saying the Alleluia – a word which should only ever be sung in the Christian liturgy). But here is a simple way of singing the ‘O’s.
The hymn ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’ is a metrical version of the Advent antiphons. Most hymn books do not have all seven antiphons, but the full version is to be found at n° 14 in the Revised English Hymnal . Print a sheet for the people with one verse for each day between 17th and 23rd. For the correct order, begin with verse 2, and finish with verse 1.
For the chorus sing Alleluia four times instead of Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel etc. This fits perfectly well, but you will need two notes on the -le of the second and fourth alleluia. And there you have your Great O Gospel Acclamations for the latter part of Advent.
