Opening Hymn: Once In Royal David’s City
As per tradition at Cambridge’s Lessons and Carols, this hymn begins the service. A solo soprano sings the first stanza, and the congregation is invited to join at the second stanza. The hymn was written by Cecil Alexander and included in her Hymns for Little Children (1848), as an illustration of the Apostles’ Creed’s statement on the birth of Jesus.
Carol: Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
While we generally associate this hymn with Advent, Charles Wesley wrote and included it in his Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord (1745). Another hymn with roots in the Hebrew Scriptures, this one draws from Isaiah 9:6 (“For to us a child is born…”) and Haggai 2:7 (“desire of every nation”). Geoffrey Wainwright and Robin A. Leaver write, “Christ’s redemptive and liberating rule is seen here stereoscopically in all its stages, from prophecy through the Incarnation to present sovereignty and final triumph; it bears individual, communal, and ultimately cosmic dimensions.”
Anthem: Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
There are two forms of this hymn; the first has twenty-three stanzas (we won’t be singing that setting!), while the second contains six. Based on Isaiah 11:1, the hymn originally referred to Mary as the “rose,” but sixteenth-century reformers changed the emphasis of the hymn to Jesus.
Carol: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
The text for “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” comes from a seven verse poem that dates back to the eighth century. It was used in a call and response fashion during the vespers, or evening, service. The original text created the reverse acrostic “ero cras,” which means “I shall be with you tomorrow,” which is fitting, as we look back and forward to the coming of Christ.
Anthem: “There Shall A Star from Jacob Come Forth” from Christus
This chorus comes from Mendelssohn’s unfinished oratorio, Christus. An oratorio is a large-scale work, like an opera, but is often not staged in a dramatic production. Well-known oratorios include Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Handel’s Messiah. This chorus begins with a paraphrase of Numbers 24:17 and Psalm 2:9, foretelling the coming of the savior. The second half of the piece is a setting of the German chorale tune Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern ("How lovely shines the morning star"). The chorale’s text comes from Psalm 45 and Revelation 22:16, where Jesus is referred to as “the bright morning star.”
Anthem: Climb to the Top of the Highest Mountain
Carolyn Jennings’ piece is based on Isaiah 40, particularly verse 9: “Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’” A recommendation: have Isaiah 40 open as you hear the anthem, and dwell on the text as it is brought to life in music.
Carol: Canticle of the Turning
The term “canticle” refers to a text in the Bible that was sung. In its strictest sense, it refers to those texts that are not the Psalms. Examples include the songs of Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15:1-18 and 15:21, as well as Mary’s Magnificat. Paul Westermeyer writes that the Magnificat is “a revolutionary text, not appreciated by dictators. If anyone thinks biblical and liturgical texts are tame, this one will quickly set the matter straight.” This paraphrase of the Magnificat, written by Rory Cooney, has an edge to it not found in many modern hymns. Cooney says he “simply wanted to write a setting of the canticle that attempted to capture the revolutionary spirit of the gospel, of a God who ‘pulls down the mighty from their thrones and raises up the lowly.’”
Anthem: What Child
William Chatterton Dix originally titled this poem, “The Manger Throne.” The poem details the paradox of Jesus’ coming to earth as a weak, helpless child, all the while being God incarnate.
Anthem: Where Shepherds Lately Knelt
Jaroslav Vajda, an American hymn writer of Slovak descent, wrote this moving text detailing the birth of Christ as the shepherds approach the manger. It also uses Old Testament references to the Messiah, as Jesus’ incarnation fulfills the prophecies.
Carol: The First Nowell
An old English carol, the hymnal employs the Old English “Nowell” as opposed to the more familiar “Noel.” First published in 1823, the carol has no attributed author, as is the case with many English carols and folk songs. The tune THE FIRST NOWELL has been used with this text since 1833.
Carol: Joy to the World!
Isaac Watts wrote this hymn at the age of fifteen, shepherding in a musical revolution in Reformed worship. Before this time, hymns were written solely as paraphrases or word-by-word settings of biblical texts; after Watts began writing, hymns began to appear that were composed by humans who wished to provide new texts to old stories from scripture. LindaJo McKim writes, “Watts believed our songs are a human offering of praise to God. Therefore the words should be our own.” Indeed, this is why we find such texts as “Joy to the World” and “Canticle of the Turning” used in the same service: each serves as a means of expressing one writer’s (and, by extension, a generation’s) faith to the next.
Carol: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Charles Wesley’s hymn has been edited many times over; the first line from 1739 originally read, “Hark, how all the welkin (an archaic term referring to the sky or heavens) rings, Glory to the King of kings.” The text was then altered by Wesley in 1743; the present first line comes from George Whitefield’s A Collection of Hymns for Social Worship, published in 1753. The tune, MENDELSSOHN, comes from a melody written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840.
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