The O Antiphons are a collection of short chants used in the last seven vespers services of Advent in the Western Church tradition. Each begins by invoking a title of Christ: “O Sapientia” (Wisdom), “O Adonai” (Lord), “O Radix Jesse” (Root of Jesse), “O Clavis David” (Key of David), “O Oriens” (Dayspring), “O Rex Gentium” (King of Nations), and “O Emmanuel” (God with Us). Likely already part of Christian worship by the sixth century, the O Antiphons have brought countless Christians through the final days of Advent in preparation for the light of Christ’s arrival, and have found expression in a multitude of Christian denominational practices in the West, not least through the nineteenth-century hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” which gathers all the O Antiphons into one declaration of praise.

Listen to resplendent Advent music that casts away the gathered dark.