Advent Music
Advent is a time of expectation. It’s really a magical time of year when the nights are long, there is a chill in the air, and people are looking forward to friendship and holiday celebrations. The music of Advent, also, has a special feel to it. To read a bit more about the history of Advent, please scroll down under the videos and other Advent title listings.
A recent book of Advent melodies for harp arranged by Darhon Rees-Rohrbacher came out in 2023. (Hymns for Advent). Twenty-four titles are assembled into one book and likely familiar to many of you. The arrangements are written only in the keys of C, G, and D and can be played on all harps, even a 26-string harp with a range of low C to high G. If you scroll way down, you can enjoy some video samples played by Mary Radspinner.
Awake, My Soul! Awake, My Tongue! | Come, O Precious Ransom | Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Comfort, Comfort Now My People | Creator of the Stars of Night | Fling Wide the Door | Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken | Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding! | Hark, the Glad Sound! | Lift Up Your Heads, O Mighty Gates | Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending | O Come, Divine Messiah | O Come, O Come, Emmanuel | Of the Father’s Love Begotten | O Lord, How Shall I Meet You? | On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry | Prepare the Way, O Zion | Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers | Savior of the Nations, Come | Shepherds, Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep | The Advent of Our God | The King Shall Come | Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying | Watchman, Tell Us of the Night
We have discovered a treasure of Advent music arranged for the harp in one book: A Hymn a Day Volume IV
This book is arranged by Hugh Callison, and is one of five volumes. Volume IV contains hymns for Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and Ordinary Time. In particular, the Advent Hymn titles are:
Hark a Thrilling Voice is Sounding (Merton) | Comfort, Comfort Now My People (Genevan 42) | Lo! How a Rose E’er Blooming (Es ISt Ein’ Ros’ Ensuprungen) | The People That in Darkenss Sat (Lobt Gott, Ihr Christen) | Lift Up Your Heads’ Ye Mighty Gates (Truro) | Watchmen Tell Us of the Night (Watchman – not Aberystwyth (hymn tune) | Hail to the Lord’s Anointed (St. Anselm) | Come Thou Long -Expected Jesus (Hyfrydol) | O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Veni Emmanuel)
The music is not difficult, and is written in a choral harp style and can be used to accompany. The tunes can also be played as a solo.
Another lovely Advent harp solo is Venez Divin Messie (O Come Divine Messiah). It is arranged by Christa Grix and lays really well under the fingers.
And lastly, referring to the above “Watchmen Tell Us of the Night”, free for you is the Aberystwyth version. It is lead sheet and has a whistle part which you can use or ignore.
Enjoy this wonderful season!
For an index of the hymns in all five volumes arranged by Hugh Callison, please click callison indexes.
Advent Meditation
This piece is a single from Christmas. A medley of two majestic minor carols arranged by RoJean Loucks for solo lever or pedal harp. Available as a PDF download only.
Advent means “the coming”.
The Advent Wreath has both pre-Christian and Protestant history in countries above the equator, which experience a period of dark and cold during the time before Christmas and the Winter Solstice. It was a time to await the coming of the light, honoring the cold and dark as part of nature.
An ancient custom the month before the winter solstice was the removal of wheels from work carts, bringing them inside the home, and hanging them from the ceiling. They were sometimes decorated with evergreens and candles, an early type of natural chandelier.
Chandeliers date back to the 9th century. The word stems from the French “chandler” meaning candle maker, and chandelle ‘candle.’ The Latin candela, from candere, translates to ‘be white, glisten.’
A Lutheran minister in Hamburg is credited with the inaugural Advent wreath in 1839. He used an old cart wheel on which he placed 20 small red candles which were lit on the weekdays of Advent, and 4 large white candles which were lit on Sundays.
Darhon has a wonderful explanation about the Advent candles with meanings in this essential book which celebrates one twelfth of the entire year.