Music of Advent: Songs of longing

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, December 20th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. This Sunday marks the fourth, and last, week of Advent as Christians around the world remember—and prepare for—the coming of Christ.

WORLD correspondent Bonnie Pritchett has been our guide through the Music of Advent. We hope these pieces have enriched your own reflections this season.

BROWN: Bonnie will be back on Christmas Day with one more musical offering…celebrating the birth of Christ.

We’ve added today’s songs in our Spotify Playlist for you to enjoy. We’ve included the link to that in today’s transcript at wng.org/podcasts.

MUSIC: O RADIANT DAWN

LYRIC: O Radiant dawn, o radiant dawn…

BONNIE PRITCHETT: The tension between waiting for Christ to come while pleading for him to do so reverberates in this antiphonal piece called “O Radiant Dawn.”

LYRIC: Sun of Justice. Sun of Justice. Sun of Justice. Come. Come. Come. Come. Come. Come. Shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death…

British composer Sir James MacMillan drew from Isaiah’s prophecy for the brief 10 lines of text sung here by Apollo 5. Those few words are powerfully conveyed along dissonant chords that resolve in one final, hopeful word.

LYRIC: Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

MUSIC: WE WAIT

Have we learned from those who first heard his promise? Do we wait on God faithfully? Expectantly? Impatiently?

LYRIC: We for a break in the weather, the traffic, a line. We wait for the light of the morning, a truce in the fight. We wait for you. This month of endless night. Prepare you room for making all things right. We wait…

Songwriter Sara Groves recorded “We Wait” in 2019. The rhythm drives a lyrical list of what tests our impatience. But that changes when she sings about what we long for and what only God can provide in his time.

LYRIC: We wait for you this month of endless night. Prepare you room cathedrals made in time. We wait for peace and goodwill to all men. We wait to see the waiting is not vain. We wait… [FADE]

MUSIC: COME THOU LONG EXPECTED JESUS

In the opening line of “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,” prolific hymn writer Charles Wesley basically says, “We’ve been waiting for so long.”

Waiting to be set free: Free from fear. Free from sin. We need rest.

LYRIC: Come thou long-expected Jesus, born to set they people free…

The band The Future of Forestry created this version of Wesley’s hymn in 2019 – again making the music as much a part of the story telling as the lyrics.

Wesley’s hymn continues its hopeful plea in the second verse by addressing the one who made – and will keep – his promises.

LYRIC: Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the Earth thou art. Dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart…

For WORLD, I’m Bonnie Pritchett.

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