Advent Music-- Not Your Mama's O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Image Credit: Creative Commons, TheRevSteve

Need some good not-quite-Christmas-but-still-appropo music for the weeks leading up to Christmas?

For whatever reason, I've really been fascinated with the history of the Jewish people this Advent. Maybe it's helping set the stage for Christmas, knowing the context and history that Christ was born into, and what exactly the Jewish people were waiting for.

This version of "Deliver Us" from The Prince of Egypt taps into that. The desperate waiting, longing for a Savior.

It's also metal as heck and a good, "I'm gonna go get things done" song.

If heavy metal rock music just doesn't do it for you, here's the original. It is an absolute classic, and worth listening to even if you like the cover. 

"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is so synonymous to Advent that you probably rolled your eyes even reading the beginning of this sentence.

In some parishes, it's sung EVERY. SINGLE. SUNDAY., to the point where the congregation begs for the sweet release of...

Ok, maybe not death, but the sweet release of something, ANYTHING, other than that song. A couple of cats fighting, maybe. Or a sudden clanging collapse of the rickety choir music stand. 

Even if you're sick of hearing it in church, this version is worth a listen. 

Sung at the tower of David in Jerusalem, the chorus partially sung in Hebrew, this version manages to make the lyrics alive in a way that no other version has done for me, even the ones I've heard in Latin. 

If you're looking for nice 'background music' while working on a project, this version is also quite lovely. 

If you're looking for more prayerful music, this version of Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd...") sung in Hebrew fits the bill. Very contemplative.

There's also this lovely version of Psalm 104. It's an updated arrangement, but the melodies find their roots in an old Jewish chant from the time of the Babylonian exile (according to the YouTube description). 

This next one may be a bit of a stretch, but it's a good song about waiting, which is the purpose of Advent, and doing it with conviction.

And it's catchy as heck.

That's all that comes to mind for me.

What about you? What do you have playing right now? What songs did I miss?


Link to the rest of this week's Quick Takes here.