O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Year: 1750

Written By: John Mason Neale, Henry Sloane Coffin

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'O come, O come, Emmanuel' is written by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin. This Latin text was written in the mid nineteenth century. The Latin translation of 'O come, O come, Emmanuel' is 'Veni, veni, Emmanuel'. This hymn is a metrical version of a collation of various Advent Antiphons. The popularity of this hymn has now meant, it also serves as a popular Advent and Christmas hymn. Although the origins of this hymn remain unclear, it is believed that the antiphons date back from at least the 8th Century which would possibly give it Gregorian origins, however, it appears that 'Veni, veni Emmanuel' may well be of 12th Century origin instead.

The text from 'O come, O come, Emmanuel' is based on the biblical prophecy which comes from Isaiah 7:14, in this prophecy, it states that God is to give Israel a sign and that sign will be called Immanuel. In Matthew 1:23, the passage actually states that the fulfilment of this prophecy actually occurs in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

In the Catholic Church, they use 'O come, O come, Emmanuel' as a widespread practice within its Church. They use two subsequent verses which are sung at each week of Advent beginning with the First Sunday of Advent as verses 1 & 2. Then, on the Second Sunday of Advent, verses 3 & 4 are sung. Moving on to the Third Sunday of Advent, here are where verses 5 & 6. Then finally on the Fourth Sunday of Advent however, verses 1 & 7 are then sung.

With many performances and covers being performed, there have been many variations of 'O come, O come, Emmanuel' which have used many differing rhythms of music. For example, in many performances of this beautiful hymn, there is a pause after the utterance of 'Emmanuel', when this happens, it occurs in both the verse and the chorus. They may however though, when singing 'Emmanuel' instead extends the final syllable. Some critics of doing this though believe that instead by omitting these pauses it actually helps to emphasize what is the meaning of the chorus.

This song remains hugely popular with any who hear it and as a result has been covered on occasions, most notable it has been covered by the band August Burns Red.