Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas (11 page)

O
Come, All Ye Faithful” has been sung in churches of all denominations for almost two hundred years and sung in Catholic masses for much longer. In the past century it has been recorded hundreds of times by some of the greatest entertainers in history. It is even one of the few traditional religious carols to land on the record charts, making it to the top ten three times. It has been translated into more than 150 languages, used in thousands of cantatas and musical productions, and called by some critics “the greatest carol ever written.” It is amazing, therefore, that the song’s author remained unknown until just after World War II.

For several hundred years it was believed that the person who wrote “O Come, All Ye Faithful” was an unknown cleric from the Middle Ages or even before. Legend had it that Saint Bonaventura had penned the words. So it came as quite a shock when English scholar Maurice Frost discovered seven “O Come, All Ye Faithful” transcripts written by hand and signed by an English Catholic priest named John Francis Wade. How
Wade’s authorship of this great carol remained unknown for more than two hundred years is a mystery that may never be solved, yet the story behind how the Catholic cleric came to write “O Come, All Ye Faithful” is one of adventure.

John Wade was a man of God caught in the middle of a Holy War. In 1745, at the age of thirty-five, Wade’s life was on the line. Strife between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic church was at an all-time high. Many practicing Catholics were forced to take their faith underground. To avoid prison or death, many priests fled Britain, including John Wade. He made his way to Douay, France, where, in a city inundated by English Catholics and those who opposed the British royal family, Wade was given an important job. Since many Catholic Church records were lost during the conflict in England, Wade was to research and identify historical church music, then carefully record and preserve it for future generations. The man took his job very seriously, leaving no stone unturned in his efforts to save anything of historical or spiritual value. Little could he have realized just how profound and long-reaching his work would be.

A calligrapher by training, as well as a skilled musician, Wade saved not only historical church songs, he then organized and distributed them to Catholic churches throughout Europe. Through his beautifully detailed drawings and manuscripts, the priest reintroduced many forgotten songs to masses across France and beyond.

Wade reclaimed old pieces but also was inspired to write new hymns. As a Catholic cleric, it was only natural that he compose his new works in Latin. In or around 1750, Wade put the finishing touches on what would become his most famous
tune, “Adeste Fideles.” He published it in his own book,
Cantus Diversi
, the next year. A decade later he completed and put lyrics to his melody. Yet somehow, even though it was published at least two different times with John Wade credited as being the composer, credit for writing “Adeste Fideles” remained a mystery when Frederrick Oakeley translated the original lyrics into English in 1841. At about that time, many legends about the song’s author began to take seed, but none of them named John Wade.

In the 1800s, Saint Bonaventura somehow emerged as the original writer of the song. There may be at least some fact in this legend. It is possible that Wade came across the writings of Bonaventura when he was doing his work in France, and that Bonaventura’s songs might have inspired or influenced Wade’s work during this period.

The next—and often still repeated—legend began in London around 1860, when “O Come, All Ye Faithful” was performed in the Portuguese embassy. The organist, Vincent Novello, informed his audience that a man named John Redding had composed the melody. While Redding seemed to have taken credit for writing “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” Wade’s manuscripts, penned more than a century before Redding’s birth, completely void his claim. The song was, however, published by Redding and is often called the “Portuguese Hymn.” Because of this, many believed that the Englishman wrote the music, but that an unknown man from Portugal penned the words. The Bonaventura and Redding tales are just two of many that supposedly pin down the origins of “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”

In America, as in most of the world, the song was adopted by many Christian churches before 1900. It was also one of the focal points of the caroling movement that swept the country. Mobile
choirs, going from house to house singing songs of the Christmas season, always sang “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” More often than not, each performance closed with the mighty chorus.

During the 1905 Christmas season, the greatest American vocal group of the period, the Peerless Quartet, recorded and released the carol. At a time when radio had yet to introduce music to the masses, thousands of copies of this Christmas single were sold. The single even hit number seven on the “National Hit Parade.” The only Christmas recording among the more than one hundred Peerless Quartet hit songs, “O Come, All Ye Faithful” became the group’s signature holiday anthem.

The world’s most famous Irish tenor, John McCormack, took John Wade’s carol to number two on the national playlists in 1915. A decade later the American Glee Club proved again that “O Come, All Ye Faithful” was still America’s favorite Christmas song. In a medium where very few Christian songs found universal favor, the song remained the most beloved holiday offering until Bing Crosby cut “White Christmas.” Of course, on that same album release, Crosby also placed his own version of “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” It was at that time that Maurice Frost finally sifted through all the legends and uncovered the song’s real writer, finally granting John Francis Wade the credit he so richly deserved.

Wade’s authorship and genius
should
be acknowledged. Even though he was living in a time of great conflict
between various branches of the Christian Church, forced to give up the country he loved as a sacrifice of faith, and made to work long hours trying to preserve church records that others were attempting to erase for all time, Wade fully revelled in his role as a servant of his Lord. In every word and verse of “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” the composer’s faith is not just verified, it is magnified. At a time when the church was literally at war, only someone who truly believed in the holiness of Christ could have written a carol that would bring all Christians together to the same place each Christmas—bowing before Christ the Lord!

“
O
Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is probably the oldest Christmas carol still sung today. This popular hymn dates back to the ninth century and represents an important and ancient series of services celebrated by the Catholic church. It also presents the different biblical roles that the church believed Jesus fulfilled. The universal nature of faith presented in this song can now be best seen by the fact that it has crossed over from a hymn sung in Latin and used in only formal Catholic masses to a carol translated into scores of languages and embraced by every Christian denomination in the world.

The writer of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is unknown. He was no doubt a monk or priest who penned the words before 800
A.D.
He was also a scholar with a rich knowledge of both the Old and New Testaments. Once completed, the hymn was evidently picked up by many European churches and monasteries and became an intensely important part of the church. Yet for fifty-one weeks of each year it was
ignored, saved for a single week of Advent vespers leading up to the celebration of Christ’s birth.

In its original form, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” was known as a song of the “Great Antiphons” or “Great O’s.” The initial Latin text, framed in the original seven different verses, represented the different biblical views of the Messiah. One verse per day was sung or chanted during the last seven days before Christmas.

Much more than the very simple, almost monotone melody employed at the time, the words painted a rich illustration of the many biblical prophesies fulfilled by Christ’s birth. So the story of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is really a condensed study of the Bible’s view of the Messiah—who he was, what he represented and why he had to come to Earth. Even to this day, if one is a proficient Bible student, the song’s lyrics reveal the unfolding story of the Messiah.

For the people of the Dark Ages—few of whom read or had access to the Bible—the song was one of the few examples of the full story of how the New and Old Testament views of the Messiah came together in the birth and life of Jesus. Because it brought the story of Christ the Savior to life during hundreds of years of ignorance and darkness, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” ranks as one of the most important songs in the history of the Christian faith.

The song owes its worldwide acceptance to a man named John Mason Neale. Born on January 24, 1818, this Anglican priest was educated at Trinity College in Cambridge. Brilliant, a man who could write and speak more than twenty languages, he should have been destined for greatness. Yet many feared his intelligence and insight. At the time, church leaders thought he was too evangelical, too progressive, and too much a freethinker to be allowed to influence the masses. So rather than
get a pastorate in London, Neale was sent by the church to the Madiera Islands off the northwest coast of Africa. Pushed out of the spotlight and given the position of warden in an all but forgotten locale, it was expected that he and his ideas would never again find root in England. Yet Neale refused to give up on God or his own calling. On a salary of just twenty-seven pounds a year he established the Sisterhood of St. Margaret. From this order he began an orphanage, a school for girls, and a house of refuge for prostitutes. And these noble ministries were just the beginning.

When he wasn’t ministering to those who could truly be called “the least of these,” the often frail and sickly Neale reviewed every facet of Scripture and Scripture-based writing he could find. It was during these studies that he came across the Latin chant, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” in a book called
Psalteroium Cantionum Catholicarum.
Seizing on the importance of the song’s inspired text, Neale translated the words into English. Interestingly, in his initial work, the lyrics began, “Draw nigh, draw nigh, Emmanuel.”

The tune that went with Neale’s translation had been used for some years in Latin text versions of the song. “Veni Emmanuel” was a fifteenth century processional that originated in a community of French Franciscan nuns living in Lisbon, Portugal. Neale’s translation of the lyrics coupled with “Veni Emmanuel” was first published in the 1850s in England. Within twenty-five years, Neale’s work, later cut to five verses and called “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” grew in popularity throughout Europe and America.

Although sung countless times each Christmas, much of the song’s rich meaning seems to have been set aside or lost. While both men—the ancient monk and the exiled priest—would probably be amazed that any still remember their work, the
fact that few realize the full impact of the words would no doubt disappoint them greatly. After all, to sing a song and not feel the power and majesty of its meaning trivializes both the music and the lyrics.

The first verse of the song is taken from Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23. It introduces Emmanuel—“God with us”—and Israel as a symbol for the Christian world, held captive on a dark and sinful Earth.

Isaiah 11 serves as the theme for the verse that begins “O come, thou rod of Jesse, free” (in some translations this is called the “Branch of Jesse”). In it the rod of Jesse represents Christ, who is the only one who can defeat Satan and bring eternal life to all those who follow him.

“O come, O Dayspring, come and cheer” presents the image of the morning star, a concept that can be traced back to Malachi 4:2. In this verse, the song states that the coming Savior will bring justice, honesty, and truth. He will enlighten and cast out darkness. As Malachi promises: “The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.”

The lyrics then turn to “O come, thou key of David,” a reference to Isaiah 22:22. The words in this verse explain that the newborn King holds the key to the heavenly kingdom and there is no way to get into the kingdom but through him.

The verse that begins “O come, O come, Adonai”
(in some texts this reads “O come, thou wisdom from on high”) centers on the source of true wisdom. This comes only from God through his Son. Through the Savior, this wisdom can reach around the world and bring peace and understanding to all men. Thus, Christ’s teachings and examples fulfilled all Old Testament prophesies.

Even today, when sung in a public hall by a small group of carolers or during a television special, the original chants of long forgotten monks can almost be heard. Although translated into scores of languages and sung in a wild variety of styles and arrangements, the simplistic yet spiritual nature of the song remains intact. It is reverent, a tribute to not only the birth of God’s child but also to the fulfillment of God’s promise to deliver his children from the world. In this simple but brilliant song, the echoed voices of clerics from the past gently urge today’s world to accept and worship the King who fulfills God’s greatest promise to his children.