Blog Caroling: Veni, Veni Emmanuel

The incomparable footnoteMaven has invited all the geneabloggers to go Blog Caroling!  You're supposed to post your favorite Christmas carol.  WHAT!  Favorite!  But I don't have just ONE favorite!  Ah well, that means I can participate in Blog Caroling every year, with a different favorite each year!

This year, my choice is "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel," which really isn't a Christmas carol, but rather an Advent hymn...and one that, so far, I haven't heard yet this Advent at Sunday Mass.  Perhaps this weekend...

I've been a Catholic long enough that I can remember the days when Masses were said and sung in Latin - and you could study Latin at Catholic high schools.  I've always had a preference for the Latin versions of many common hymns and carols.  For "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel," that would be "Veni, Veni Emmanuel," an eighth- or ninth-century antiphon.

Today I went poking around on YouTube, and found this lovely version by Loreena McKennitt, one of my favorite artists, with gorgeous photographs of nature set to the music:
Loreena only sings four of the Latin verses; all seven verses, with their English translations, can be found here.

© Amanda Pape - 2010