O Come, O Come Emmanuel
by Steven Curtis Chapman
SSA - Digital Sheet Music

 

This PDF contains the tenor solo, the SSA background vocals, a simple rhythm chart in which some of the exposed piano licks are written out, and supplemental parts for a string section and flute, oboe (opt. flute 2), and two clarinets–the ensemble that I was working with that year. And as always, a C score is provided, which allows a keyboardist to cover for missing instruments, e.g., a live string section.

 

I am unable to get the Finale file to cooperate in producing a demo, but the arrangement is very close to the SCC recording. Duration: approx. 3:15. The purchase price allows you to duplicate as many copies as needed for your vocalists and instrumentalists.

 

Here are some program notes:

 

The origin of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is cloaked in obscurity, with sources listing its beginnings anywhere from the 7th century to the 12th. The text is based on a series of seven antiphons traditionally sung on successive days in Advent vesper services leading up to the Christ Mass, a celebration which later became known as Christmas. Each antiphon greeted the anticipated Savior by one of the many titles given Him in Scripture, such as "Emmanuel," "Rod of Jesse," "Dayspring," "Key of David," etc.

John Mason Neale (1818-1866) was a minister in the Church of England. Caught up in the Oxford Movement, he became
interested in the original languages–specifically, Greek and Latin–that had cradled the early liturgies of the Church. He became a renowned translator of ancient hymns–among them, "Good Christian Men, Rejoice," "All Glory, Laud, and Honor," "Of the Father’s Love Begotten," and "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." After translating the Latin text "Veni Emmanuel" in 1851, he added the refrain that we know today. Some versions of the text contain portions of a 1916 translation by Henry Sloan Coffin.