The O Antiphons (also known as the Great Advent Antiphons or Great Os) are

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...

antiphon An antiphon ( Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are the Psalms. Their form was favored by St Ambrose and they feature prominentl ...

s used at

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meanin ...

on the last seven days of Advent in Western Christian traditions. They likely date to sixth-century Italy, when

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...

refers to the text in ''

The Consolation of Philosophy ''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' ('' la, De consolatione philosophiae'')'','' often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation,'' is a philosophical work by the Roman statesman Boethius. Written in 523 while he ...

''. They subsequently became one of the key musical features of the days leading up to

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

. The texts are best known in the

English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...

in their paraphrased form in the hymn " O Come, O Come, Emmanuel".

Sequence

Each text, in the original Latin, begins with the

vocative In grammar, the vocative case (abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed, or occasionally for the noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and numer ...

particle In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass. They vary greatly in size or quantity, from ...

"O". Each antiphon is a title of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture. They are: * 17 December: ''O Sapientia'' (O

Wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowle ...

) * 18 December: ''O Adonai'' * 19 December: ''O Radix Jesse'' (O Root of Jesse) * 20 December: ''O Clavis David'' (O Key of

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

) * 21 December: ''O Oriens'' (O Dawn of the East) * 22 December: ''O Rex Gentium'' (O King of the Nations) * 23 December: ''O

Emmanuel Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the ...

'' In the Roman rite, the O Antiphons are sung or recited for the

from 17 December to 23 December.

Origin

The antiphon texts are believed to have originated in Italy in or before the sixth century. Boethius's ''Consolation of Philosophy'' includes a passage in which Lady Philosophy appears to cite the series: The underlying reference is to Wisdom 8:1, but the precise phrasing almost certainly refers to ''O sapientia''. There were many later traditions throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

surrounding their performance, and Amalarius wrote a detailed commentary on them in the ninth century. The first letters of the titles, from last to first, appear to form a Latin acrostic, ''Ero cras'', meaning 'Tomorrow, I will be

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...

, mirroring the theme of the antiphons. This is formed from the first letter of each title – Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia. Such acrostics were popular among early medieval writers, and some scholars have taken this as further evidence for their antiquity, but this view is not universally accepted. O thomas12

A number of other antiphons were found in various medieval

breviaries A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such as ...

Analysis

Each antiphon has the following structure: * a Messianic title preceded by "O". Example: "O Wisdom" * elaboration of the title: "coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things" * the verb "come" * elaboration of the request to come: "and teach us the way of prudence." Below is the traditional Latin text of each antiphon, as well as the English text from the Church of England's ''Common Worship'' liturgy. Each antiphon is a

cento The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Tur ...

of passages from the Bible. In the text of each antiphon below, the passages from the Bible are indicated by underlining, and the quotation in the footnote is from the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

(for Latin passages) or (for English passages) the

NRSV The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches.

''O Adonai''

''O Radix Jesse''

''O Clavis David''

''O Oriens''

''O Rex gentium''

''O Emmanuel''

Other Antiphons

In addition to the seven antiphons above, a number of other O antiphons have been in use over the centuries in different churches: “O Virgo virginum”, "O Gabriel, nuntius cœlorum", "O Thoma Didyme", “O Rex pacifice”, "O Mundi Domina", “O Hierusalem”, "O sancte sanctorum", “O pastor Israel”. The Parisian Rite had 9 antiphons beginning on December 15, and some other churches had 12 antiphons. A feature of these is that most of them were not addressed to the Messiah. And they were independent of each other, unlike the seven O antiphons described above that formed a self-contained group (as can be seen from the acrostic ''Ero cras''). An English medieval practice was to add an eighth antiphon – ''O Virgo virginum'' – on December 23, and move the others back one day, thus beginning the series on 16 December. The acrostic then became ''Vero cras'' ("Truly, tomorrow"). Given the English origins of this alternative, it has traditionally been the version used in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

(including Canterbury Cathedral) until recent times, and is the version printed in traditional Church of England liturgical sources including ''

The English Hymnal ''The English Hymnal'' is a hymn book which was published in 1906 for the Church of England by Oxford University Press. It was edited by the clergyman and writer Percy Dearmer and the composer and music historian Ralph Vaughan Williams, and wa ...

'' (1906) and '' The New English Hymnal'' (1986). From 2000, however, the Church of England appears to have taken an official step away from English medieval practice towards the more widely spread custom, as '' Common Worship'' makes provision for the sevenfold version of the antiphons, and not the eightfold version.

Current practice

In the Catholic Church, the seven standard O antiphons continue to serve as Magnificat antiphons at

from 17 to 23 December. Since the liturgical reforms following Vatican II, they are also used as the Alleluia verses for Mass in the

Ordinary Form The Mass of Paul VI, also known as the Ordinary Form or Novus Ordo, is the most commonly used liturgy in the Catholic Church. It is a form of the Latin Church's Roman Rite and was promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969, published by him in the 1970 ...

on the same days. For the Alleluia verses, the Lectionary moves ''O Emmanuel'' to the 21st, uses ''Rex Gentium'' on both the 22nd and 23rd, and places ''O Oriens'' on the morning of the 24th, but the traditional ordering from the 17th through the 23rd is also permitted. The Catholic

personal ordinariates A personal ordinariate for former Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate,"...the liturgies approved for the Anglican ordinariates..." "Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter..." ...

follow the practice for days from the 17th to the 23rd (Magnificat antiphon at Evensong and Alleluia Verse at Mass, either in the traditional order as indicated in ''Divine Worship: The Missal'' or in the order indicated in the Lectionary, but in addition also use ''O Virgo virginum'' on the morning of 24 December, both as the

Benedictus Benedictus may refer to: Music * Benedictus (Song of Zechariah), ''Benedictus'' (''Song of Zechariah''), the canticle sung at Lauds, also called the Canticle of Zachary * The second part of the Sanctus, part of the Eucharistic prayer * Benedictus ...

antiphon at morning prayer and as the Alleluia verse at Mass. Some Anglican churches, such as the

, use the O Antiphons at

evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...

; often according to medieval English usage, beginning on 16 December. Use of the O Antiphons also occurs in many

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

churches. For example, an English translation of "The Great O Antiphons" appears with the hymn ''O Come, O Come, Emmanuel'' in Lutheran Service Book . In the Book of Common Worship published by the Presbyterian Church (USA), the antiphons can be read as a praise litany at Morning or Evening Prayer.

Musical settings

* Carlo Gesualdo, ''Ô Oriens'' (1603). * Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy, ''Les Antiennes Ô de l'Avent'', with basso continuo. *

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

, ''7 Antiennes Ô'', H 36–43, completed in the early 1690s. * Louis Nicolas Clérambault, 7 Antiennes Ô C.221–227 (1700). * , ''7 Antiennes Ô'' (1766). * Ralph Vaughan Williams,

plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text ...

setting in English, published in

. * Herman Strategier,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

composer and organist, ''Cantica pro tempore natali'' (1953). * Arvo Pärt,

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n composer, a German translation ''Sieben Magnificat-Antiphonen für gemischten Chor a cappella''. * Bob Chilcott, British composer, ''Advent Antiphons'', in Latin, for unaccompanied SSAATTBB. * Paweł Łukaszewski, Polish composer, (1995–1999). * Peter Hallock, American composer of music in the Episcopalian and Anglican traditions, two settings, 1986 and 1989. *

Healey Willan James Healey Willan (12 October 1880 – 16 February 1968) was an Anglo-Canadian organist and composer. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and ...

, Anglo-Canadian composer, whose setting is in use throughout the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

. *

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...

, Scottish composer, has set to music an English paraphrase of the antiphon ''O Oriens'' ('O Radiant Dawn') as part of his ''Strathclyde Motets''. The setting borrows harmony from

Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis (23 November 1585; also Tallys or Talles) was an English composer of High Renaissance music. His compositions are primarily vocal, and he occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music. Tallis is considered one ...

's motet ''O nata lux''.

Media

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References

External links

* * * * {{Advent Catholic liturgy Latin-language Christian hymns Advent songs