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St Mary's Pro-Cathedral of the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney

St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Carden Place, Aberdeen

Pro-Cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney

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Our Favourite Hymns

21/12/2021 by Nicola Mills

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lowly exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

This strange, mystical hymn is very old, with its origins probably around the seventh century and linked to monastic worship traditions, deriving from the O Antiphons which were sung in the days leading up to Christmas. The words are strongly reminiscent of passages in Revelation 22. Each verse reflects one of the ‘names’ of Emmanuel, and the Latin original also contains a kind of acrostic on the words ‘ero cras’, Latin for ‘I will be there tomorrow’. Whether or not the hymn originated in Germany, it was first published there in 1710 and developed there subsequently, taking on more of an Advent theme with each new edition. The version we sing, which is the most common English version, is a translation from the Latin by John Mason Neale in 1851. Neale, a sympathiser of the Oxford Movement, was a strong influence on Aberdeen’s own Rev. John Comper and inspired him to build St. Margaret’s Convent on the Spital.

The tune we use is also of some age: it was said to have been found in a French manuscript in Portugal by Thomas Helmore, an English composer, and published with an early form of Neale’s translation in 1851. This was never completely proved, but a 15th century copy of the tune was discovered in 1966 in a French manuscript in Paris, so there may indeed have been more than one copy, perhaps from an even older source. The pairing of words and music seem to match the darkness of Advent, the light of candles, the mystery of Christ’s anticipated birth – a perfect hymn for the season.


Filed Under: Christmas 2021, Magazine, Our Favourite Hymns

St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Carden Place, Aberdeen AB10 1UN
Rector: Rev Canon Terry Taggart   |   Email: office@stmaryscardenplace.org.uk   |   Tel: 01224 561383

St Mary's Episcopal Church is a registered Charity in Scotland: Charity No SC014062   |   Copyright © 2022

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