Advent – blink and you might just miss it !!

December 23rd, 2019

The season of Advent lasts for around four weeks – this rather short season (in comparison to Lent and Easter) leads into another even shorter season: Christmas – but the brevity of these two seasons belies their great significance.

Do we get stuck for musical ideas for this season? Perhaps we are so honestly unfamiliar with the repertoire of Advent that we sing ‘O Come, o come Emmanuel’ and then just leave it at that?..

But Advent is so rich with its own musical treasures which are almost obliterated with the early appearance of Christmas carols.

The Roman Missal refers to the music of Advent as being ‘marked by a moderation suited to this time of year’ and continues on to caution against a premature fullness of joy which is reserved for the Christmas season itself (GIRM 313). Indeed, stemming from our tradition, Advent is, in fact, a penitential season.

So what are some of these musical treasures of Advent?

Let’s take the most famous hymn of Advent: the charming ‘Conditor Alme Siderum’: it’s tune literally dances and plays as It talks of the ‘Creator of the starry skies’ becoming human – the Bridegroom coming from a virgin ‘shrine’.

And what about the antiphons of this season? Take the Communion antiphon of the 4th Sunday of Advent ‘Ecce Virgo Concipiet’ which echoes centuries of expectation and waiting – it is like a whisper echoing through time and creation…whispering of Gods promise to fallen mankind in the garden of Eden…it gains momentum through time until Isaiah finally clearly utters it around 600 years before the birth of Christ – God’s promise finally come true !!

Consider also the joyous Noels of the French classical organ tradition – they start simply but as they progress through their variations they gain in joy and delight – their figurations and ever more elaborate variations truly sound like they are almost tripping over themselves with delight and uncontainable joy !!

And the soft, slow Noels? These poignant little masterpieces with their endearing melodies somehow draw us into a truly special, hushed space – almost like we are quietly watching Our Lady tenderly gazing on her sleeping, newborn Son as she lovingly cradles Him, the Saviour of the world, in her arms.

So let’s make sure our Advent, despite its brevity, doesn’t turn into a non-event – let’s explore the musical riches of this short season so that in these final days before Christmas when our beloved O antiphons return we are ready to receive them and acclaim the Messiah at his coming – the tiny Infant in Our Lady’s arms…the Creator of the starry skies…

Jacinta