A Little Advent Music
One of our all time favorites for 2-Part Choir with Organ and violin + oboe (or other C instruments). Opt. SATB in the second movement (Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming). Three delightful two-part anthems (with a prelude) based on Advent tunes — Come, Thou Redeemer of the Earth; Lo How A Rose; O Come, O Come Emmanuel. All in unison or canon. Optional readings included. Suitable for children's choirs, too. The anthems work equally well when performed individually.
Come, thou Redeemer of the earth,
And manifest thy virgin birth:
Let every age adoring fall,
such birth befits the God of all.
Thy cradle here shall glitter bright,
And darkness glow with newborn light,
No more shall night extinguish day,
Where love's bright beams their power display.
O Jesu, virgin born to thee,
eternal praise and glory be,
When with the Father we adore,
And Holy Spirit evermore. Amen.
Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as seers of old have sung.
It came, a blossom bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.
Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.
to show God’s love aright, she bore to us a Savior,
When half spent was the night.
This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True Man, yet very God, from sin and death now save us,
And lighten every load.
O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of humankind.
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.