Day One

1. Read and/or sing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (following page).  You can listen to the melody at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/mid/v/e/n/veni_Emmanuel.mid

Or you can hear it sung at http://www.santasearch.org/music.asp?PID=2&AudioID=2455 (click “play music”). Note that the website attributes the song to Isaac Watts, which is incorrect.

Sheet music can be found at http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/PDF/O_Come_O_Come_Emmanuel.pdf.

2. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” was first written in Latin. Read more about the Latin language at http://latin-language.co.uk/.

• Why was this song written in Latin, since it wasn’t written in ancient Rome?

3.The version we know was translated into English by John Neale and published in 1851. You can read about John Neale at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/n/e/a/neale_jm.htm

4. Look at the lyrics to “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” in Latin at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/non/la/veniemma.htm.  Are there any words that look like English words? That is because English is partly based on Latin.

5. The melody of this carol was based on a plainsong.  Plainsongs had no harmony (just a melody sung in unison), and the timing was irregular (you cannot “clap to the beat” of a plainsong!)

To find out more about plainsongs, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plainsong and http://www.hypermusic.ca/hist/medieval1.html

There are examples of plainsongs you can download at this site.

(Note: There are several medieval and plainsong Christmas songs recorded by John Michael Talbot on his album “The Birth of Jesus: A Celebration of Christmas.” You may enjoy listening to them.)

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Translated from Latin by John M. Neale

1. O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Chorus
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

2. O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.  Chorus

3. O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadow put to flight!  Chorus

4. O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.  Chorus

5. O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud, and majesty, and awe.  Chorus