Advent music in Canada

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, December 23rd. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Well, for the last four Fridays we’ve ended our program with a few musical selections from around the world. We’re hoping to help you better prepare spiritually for Christmas. Not every selection is commercially available, but most are—so we’ve created a Spotify and Apple Music playlist of those. We’ve included a link in today’s transcript.

This week we head up North for our Music of Advent series to hear how Canada celebrates the season.

Here’s WORLD reporter Anna Mandin.

ANNA MANDIN, REPORTER: Christmas in Canada ranges a lot from sea to sea. For one thing, some places celebrate Christmas with temperatures around 30 degrees. Others are closer to minus 20.

But Canadian advent traditions go far deeper than white Christmases. Those traditions include both French and English hymns, reflecting the role of French and British colonies in Canada’s history.

MUSIC: VENEZ DIVIN MESSIE by The Stairwell Carollers!

One of the most common French advent songs is Venez Divin Messie, or O Come, Divine Messiah.

The song was written in the 18th century by Simon-Joseph Pellegrin. It’s a prayer of longing for the return of a Messiah who can deliver his people from pain, death and guilt.

The chorus here ends,

“Come, Divine Messiah,
Save our unfortunate days,
Come, source of Life,
Come, come, come.”

The Mystery of Bethlehem is in English, written in Canada by British-born Healey Willan in 1923. In this performance by the Orpheus Choir in Toronto, Willan’s six movements tell about the birth of Christ.

MUSIC: "THE PROPHECY" from THE MYSTERY OF BETHLEHEM by HEALEY WILLAN. Performed by The Orpheus Choir

First, there was the prophecy, then Gabriel telling Mary she would give birth to the Messiah. The song then moves to Christ’s birth, the shepherds’ call to come worship him, and the Magi’s desire to seek out this God and king. Finally, it recognizes that Jesus has come. Heaven and Earth should bow down and worship him.

MUSIC: "THE FULFILLMENT" from THE MYSTERY OF BETHLEHEM by HEALEY WILLAN. Performed by The Orpheus Choir

Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert ring
Evermore and evermore.

The familiar hymn O Holy Night was originally written as a French poem in 1843 by Placide Cappeau, and turned to song by Adolphe Adam. While the English version has become popular around the world, in Canada the hymn has also been translated into one of the most common Indigenous languages, Cree. Here is singer Falynn Baptiste performing that version of O Holy Night.

MUSIC: O HOLY NIGHT by Falynn Baptiste

The song recalls the night when Christ finally came.

MUSIC: O HOLY NIGHT by Falynn Baptiste

“Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth.”

The lyric explains how one day Christ will break slaves’ chains and put an end to all oppression.

In light of this coming hope, the song ends with a recommendation: Let all within us praise His holy name.

MUSIC: O HOLY NIGHT by Falynn Baptiste

I’m Anna Mandin, celebrating advent in Calgary, Alberta.

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