THE GREAT Os- ADVENT

 

The O ANTIPHONS (also known as the Great Advent Antiphons or Great Os) are Magnificat antiphons used at Vespers on the last seven days (17 to 23 December) of Advent in Western Christian traditions. They likely date to sixth-century Italy, when Boethius refers to the text in The Consolation of Philosophy. For us they are one of the key musical features of the days leading up to Christmas.

The texts are best known in the English-speaking world in their paraphrased form in the hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel".

 Their repeated use of the imperative "Come!" embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah. They are verses extracted from the Old Testament prophets, namely Isaiah.

 Each text, in the original Latin, begins with the vocative particle "O". Each antiphon is a title of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture. They are:

 17 December: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)

18 December: O Adonai

19 December: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)

20 December: O Clavis David (O Key of David)

21 December: O Oriens (O Dawn of the East)

22 December: O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)

23 December: O Emmanuel

 The first letters of the titles, from last to first, appear to form a Latin acrostic, Ero cras, meaning 'Tomorrow, I will be [there]', mirroring the theme of the antiphons. This is formed from the first letter of each title –Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia.

O SAPIENTIA

Latin: O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.   Ecclesiasticus 24:3 & Wisdom 8:1

English: O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.   Icon: Sophia the Wisdom of God, Novgorod 15th Century