Adeste Fidelis

  

As it’s December, I’ve decided to use Christmas/Holiday Hymns this month. 

Wikipedia tells us this about the hymn:

"O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as Adeste Fideles) is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692), King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), and anonymous Cistercian monks. The earliest printed version is in a book published by Wade, but the earliest manuscript bears the name of King John IV, and is located in the library of the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa. A manuscript by Wade, dating to 1751, is held by Stonyhurst College in Lancashire.

The original four verses of the hymn were extended to a total of eight, and these have been translated into many languages. The English translation of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" by the English Catholic priest Frederick Oakeley, written in 1841, is widespread in most English-speaking countries.

The original text of the hymn has been from time to time attributed to various groups and individuals, including St. Bonaventure in the 13th century or King John IV of Portugal in the 17th, though it was more commonly believed that the text was written by Cistercian monks – the German, Portuguese or Spanish provinces of that order having at various times been credited.

In modern English hymnals, the text is usually credited to John Francis Wade, whose name appears on the earliest printed versions. However, this is most likely an error of attribution. Wade, an English Catholic, lived in exile in France and made a living as a copyist of musical manuscripts which he found in libraries. He often signed his copies, possibly because his calligraphy was so beautiful that his clients requested this. In 1751 he published a printed compilation of his manuscript copies, Cantus Diversi pro Dominicis et Festis per annum. This is the first printed source for Adeste Fideles.

The version published by Wade consisted of four Latin verses. Later in the 18th century, the French Catholic priest Jean-François-Étienne Borderies (fr) wrote an additional three verses in Latin. Another anonymous Latin verse is rarely printed.

The text has been translated innumerable times into English. The most common version today is a combination of one of Frederick Oakeley's translations of the original four verses, and William Thomas Brooke's translation of the three additional verses. It was first published in Murray's Hymnal in 1852. Oakeley originally titled the song "Ye Faithful, approach ye" when it was sung at his Margaret Chapel in Marylebone (London), before it was altered to its current form.

The song was sometimes referred to as the "Portuguese Hymn" after the Duke of Leeds, in 1795, heard a version of it sung at the Portuguese embassy in London. The most commonly named Portuguese author is King John IV of Portugal, "The Musician King" (reigned 1640–1656). John was a patron of music and the arts, and a considerably sophisticated writer on music; and he was also a composer. During his reign he collected one of the largest musical libraries in the world, which was destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. He also founded a Music School in Vila Viçosa that "exported" musicians to Spain and Italy.

It was at John's Vila Viçosa palace that two manuscripts of the "Portuguese Hymn" have been found and dated to 1640. These manuscripts predate Wade's eighteenth-century versions, whether printed or manuscript. (However, McKim and Randell nonetheless argue for Wade's authorship of the version people are now familiar with.)

Among King John's writings is a Defense of Modern Music (Lisbon, 1649). In the same year (1649) he had a huge struggle to get instrumental music approved by the Vatican for use in the Catholic Church. Another famous composition of his is a setting of the Crux fidelis, a work that remains highly popular during Lent among church choirs.

"Adeste Fideles"

Adeste fideles

laeti triumphantes

venite, venite in Bethlehem

Natum videte

Regem angelorum

Venite adoremus,

Venite adoremus,

Venite adoremus

Dominum

En, grege relicto,

humiles ad cunas,

vocati pastores approperant;

et nos ovanti gradu festinemus.

Venite adoremus,

Venite adoremus,

Venite adoremus

Dominum

Adeste fideles

laeti triumphantes

venite, venite in Bethlehem

Natum videte

Regem angelorum

Venite adoremus,

Venite adoremus,

Venite adoremus

“O Come All Ye Faithful”

O come, all ye faithful,

Joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him,

Born the King of Angels;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

O Sing, choirs of angels,

Sing in exultation,

Sing all that hear in heaven God's holy word.

Give to our Father glory in the Highest;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,

Born this happy morning,

O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

I am always open to suggestions for songs to be used, as well as other suggestions you might have for the blog. If you would rather not share that info in the comments, you may email your suggestions.