Welcome to the Nativity Season!
That's what author and creator Sybil this time of Advent through Epiphany, the triptych of the new church year. One of the ways we can celebrate and commemorate is through music -- by taking a few minutes each day to purposefully listen to the songs of the seasons, so they transform from noise that insulates us from what’s going on around us to prayer that awakens us and alerts us to the presence of Emmanuel, who was and is and is to come.
This week we light the 1st candle of the Advent wreath, which represents Hope. The readings for Advent 1 in the lectionary are prophetic, apocalyptic and ultimately, full of hope for the coming Savior.
To help you embrace the season of hopeful waiting and preparation, here are a few songs and hymns especially for the first week of Advent. One note: we’ll be exploring a variety of styles of music in these playlists so you’ll hear things that might be familiar in new ways, and you’ll also hear some songs that aren’t “traditional” Advent songs but feel appropriate to the theme of the week. As you're listening, if there’s a different version that you especially love, let us know!
O Come, O Come Emmanuel | We’ll return to this hymn each week, as it is our Advent cry - Come, Emmanuel. Come, God With Us. Read about the origins of the hymn at Hymnary. Note the mention of the O Antiphons, which we’ll revisit later in Advent as we turn into the final days of waiting. This version is by Enya. It’s gorgeous and ethereal, a great way to center and consider the implications of this God With Us we wait for.
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus | One of the most common hymns of Advent, and Methodist, to boot: the text is attributed to Charles Wesley. Read some of the background about the hymn over at Hymnary. This version is from Red Mountain Church - the video includes lyrics if you’d like to sing along.
Abide With Me | This familiar hymn is not what you’d call an Advent song, but it’s a song that’s been a touchstone for me all through 2020, and for the first week of Advent it seems especially appropriate. Is there any difference, really, between crying “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and “Abide with me?” Each phrase is a part of the same thing: we need to feel God’s presence. This version is by Emile Sandes, recorded for the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremonies.
E’en So Lord Jesus Quickly Come | Although not written to be an Advent song, it has become a popular choral piece for Advent and Christmas because the text is adapted from Revelation (our go-to passages for end-times!) and because it has been used for the Kings College Festival of Lessons and Carols, thus endearing it to choir directors everywhere. Also, it’s spine-tingling, goosebump-inducing beautiful music coordinated with lyrics that seem to echo the cries of our own souls. This video is from the Winchester Cathedral Advent Processional from this year.
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus | Perhaps you'd like a lovely choral version in addition to a contemporary version.
Lo, He Comes on Clouds Descending | You have to love a hymn that was originally published in a hymnbook called “Hymns for the Intercession of All Mankind”. Another of Charles Wesley’s masterpieces, you might need to give yourself a little time with this one -- particularly this arrangement by Schola Cantorum. It starts with an organ introduction and builds to the chorale part of the piece. While you’re listening to the beginning, read the lyrics and more background at Hymnary.
Do It Again | I don’t know anyone who isn’t having a hard time in one way or another (or all the ways, honestly.) This is not an Advent song, but it’s a good reminder that God’s promises still stand. God has never failed us, and as we wait in joyful hope, we can believe that God is still working in the world, even when it might be hard to believe - God is still moving mountains. God is still making ways when there seems to be no way. Even if we can’t see it right at this moment, for whatever circumstances are challenging us, God’s promise still stands, and we’ll see God “do it again”.
Soon and Very Soon | Andrae Crouch wrote and recorded this in 1978, and about a decade later it began appearing in church hymnals. It’s a great Gospel tune with lyrics. Soak yourself in the amazing, joyful hope of this recording from a Gaither Homecoming Session, featuring Andrae Crouch himself and the incomparable CeCe Winans.
Make Room | This is what Advent is about: taking time to make room in your heart and in your life for the Christ child. Once you’ve made the journey over these four weeks, once Christmas comes, will you be able to welcome Christ and all the transformation that will bring? Where is the growing edge for you this year? What’s preventing you from making that room? What do you need over the next few weeks to be ready in your heart, mind and soul for Christ?
We Rise | One of the themes of the first week of Advent is prophecy. The Old Testament readings for all three lectionary years are prophets speaking hope to an oppressed people. This hope is for all of us, regardless of circumstance, but it’s important to focus on how we are participants in the promise of hope. Perhaps we have tremendous privilege and so we can offer hope by amplifying other voices. Perhaps we can use our privilege to provide for others materially. What does rising in hope look like to you this season? “In hope, in prayer, we find ourselves here…”
I Believe | You heard this one during worship on Sunday, and I’ve heard from more than a few church friends that they, too, heard it in their worship services this past Sunday. This one is a virtual choir - the University of La Verne Chamber Singers, recorded this past spring.
Here are all of the songs as one YouTube playlist.
And here are all of the songs as a Spotify playlist.
Advent blessings to you, friends.