Welcome to Anthem 46 in my attempt to write a new choir anthem every week for a year. I’m Kevin Mulryne and I hope you will enjoy listening to my progress throughout 2024. Please do visit the website Anthem52.com, follow along on x.com – @realanthem52 or Instagram – @realanthem52 and send me a message to show@anthem52.com.
This week, in comparison to last week, was more straightforward, in terms of composing anyway. I realised that I hadn’t written very many Advent carols (have I written any as part of Anthem 52?) and, considering the Advent Carol Service is my favourite of the Church year, I should remedy that situation.
So I had a look through my usual Isaac Watts source. I couldn’t find any Advent words at all so I widened the search. Very soon I came across this: O Come, Divine Messiah, a French Advent song written by M. l’abbé Pellegrin (1663-1745) and translated by Sister Mary of St. Philip in 1877. These words seemed ideal to set so I was off to a good start.
Here are the words I chose:
Words for Anthem 46:
1. O come, Divine Messiah,
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.Refrain:
Dear Saviour, haste! Come, come to earth.
Dispel the night and show your face,
And bid us hail the dawn of grace.
O come, Divine Messiah,
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.2. O come Desired of nations,
Whom priest and prophet long foretold,
Will break the captive fetters,
Redeem the long-lost fold. [Refrain]3. O come in peace and meekness,
For lowly will your cradle be:
Though clothed in human weakness
We shall your God-head see. [Refrain]
It was an unaccompanied choir week and my newly-discovered VOXOS choir voices were perfect for creating this quiet anthem. For some reason, I decided to write in 5/4 time and I think it gave me a beneficial freedom of expression. I did have to employ 4/4 and 3/4 bars here and there but overall the 5/4 remains the default.
I also found that gaps were easier to achieve in this odd meter, so there are a lot of general rests. This created an additional sense of peace which I like.
Pleasant suspensions seemed to suggest themselves as I went along so you can hear that in the opening phrases. The ends of phrases also seemed to work well with an abrupt resolution which is a bit surprising.
The second part of the refrain and the verse both have a tune and accompaniment approach with the sopranos taking the tune. I wasn’t sure whether to follow the directions in the words about the repeated refrain but, in the end, I did repeat it as suggested. The first time the refrain reappears, it’s slightly different to the opening version and that’s the one I stick with for the rest of the anthem.
The tenors take over the tune in the second verse, to add a little variety. There’s also a connecting passage before the refrain comes back.
I was keen to avoid the repetition of the verse structure for the third time and the overall feel of the anthem was quiet so I decided to have the altos singing the third verse on their own. I think this is pretty effective, particularly when it is contrasted with the final return of the refrain.
The ending is very simple with a final unison note, fading away.
Anyway, see what you think:
Well, what do you think? Let me know on X.com @realanthem52, Instagram @realanthem52, as a comment below or via email show@anthem52.com
I hope you will join me next week for a new episode – and a new anthem – only 6 to go – but until then the question remains – will I make it to Anthem 52?
