The Hymns of Advent

The hymnody of this season is distinct.  A few of the true Advent texts have become a part of the traditional Christmas repertoire, but only a few.  In point of fact there is a wealth of Advent music available to us for use in the early days of this season.

The United Methodist Hymnal includes a few:

Come, thou long expected Jesus        

Ye who claim the faith of Jesus

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord  

Merciful God, you sent your messengers the prophets                                             

People look east. The time is near     

Hail to the Lord's Anointed   

Emmanuel, Emmanuel, his name is called Emmanuel          

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light 

You are the light of the world

O come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord

I want to walk as a child of the light 

Prepare the way of the Lord  

Hail to the Lord's Anointed, great David's greater Son         

Blessed be the God of Israel  

All earth is waiting to see the Promised One

O come, O come, Emmanuel

Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Hosts

Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates  

Savior of the nations, come

It is true that not all of these are toe-tappers.  Some are not familiar at all to a lot of present-day congregations, owing to their being overpowered by the traditional carols of the season.  But among these are some truly fine lyrics that do a great job of exploring biblical texts and seasonal themes musically.  We would do well to pay more attention to them.

Some of my favorite CDs for the season include ChristmasCarols at St. John’s and Evensong for Advent.  I apologize for the commercial nature of the links.  I also like The Advent Season by Lucia field on Spotify.