Veni Emmanuel! Last Chapels

Not a concert. Not a performance per se, nor a parade calling attention to ourselves, but rather a holy pageant of Word and Song signalling the deep wonder of God’s Word coming to us in the darkness of the year. The Advent Carol Service of Nine Lessons and Carols brings light and wisdom, peace and joy, love and hope to our souls and world. Such was the service Friday afternoon, December 6, at Christ Church, when the whole School for the first time in many, many years was gathered together for the Advent Christmas Service of Nine Lessons and Carols.

It was a remarkable and special event with a battalion of servers, a company of readers, a choir of singers, a cadre of candle-bearers, and musicians with their instruments - all part of the strong objectivity and spiritual intentionality of the Scriptural Readings and hymns and carols that speak to our souls and illumine our minds about the mystery of God and God with us in the Christian understanding.

God with us is Emmanuel. In our case, the service was structured around Palestrina’s 16th century haunting melodies of the Matin Responsory for the Advent Sunday Office of Matins in the early Medieval Roman rite and punctuated by the seven verses of the lovely plainsong melody, arranged by Healey Willan (20th century), of a 12th century Latin Hymn, the Veni Emmanuel. The verses offer a collection of scriputral titles or names from the Hebrew Scriptures that are understood symbolically in relation to Jesus Christ and to the deeper meaning of his holy Nativity. The term which stands out in the first verse and is repeated in the refrain is Emmanuel, which means God with us. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” It is a once a note of longing and rejoicing.

The Veni Emmanuel speaks to the ancient hopes for a Messiah, for a Saviour, associated with such images and attributes as Wisdom - O Sapientia;  Lordship - O Adonai; Rod of Jesse, referencing Christ in relation to the Davidic lineage - O Jesse Virgula; and again as the Key of David - O Clavis Davidica; Daystar from the East - O Oriens; and King of the Nations - O Rex Gentium. This classical Advent Hymn was complemented by the Advent Hymn, ‘Hark! A Herald Voice is Sounding’, the wonderful ‘Huron Carol’ - Canada’s first Christmas Carol arising out of the interaction between the Jesuit Missionary and Martyr, Fr. John Brebeuf, and the Huron or Wendat peoples of Canada, the Christmas Carol, ‘Adeste Fidelis’ - ‘O Come, All ye Faithful’ and ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’, the moving traditional German hymn, ‘Silent Night’, and ending with the classical Carol, ‘Shepherds in the Field Abiding’.

The choir offered a lovely rendition of the traditional Carol, ‘The First Nowell’, under the direction of Ms. Stephanie Fillman. Jasmine Zhu '26 on violin and Sofia Ning '25 on keyboard provided a beautiful version of the great Bach Advent carol, Wachet Auf, which as also highlighted in the Organ Prelude. Harvey Hadley '27 played a traditional Catalonian piece - El Noi de la Mare, for classical guitar, appropriately meditative and reflective. All these things were built around a powerful set of readings beginning with two passages from the Genesis story of the Fall and the promises of God to Abraham “through whom all nations shall be blessed”, three prophetic readings from Isaiah, and one from Micah, a reading from Luke’s Gospel, and Matthew’s Gospel before ending with the great Christmas Gospel from John 1. 1-14.

The readers were Spencer Armstrong '30, Dami Adeniji '25, Willoughby Larder '29, Skye Hussey '26, Micah Burch-Pottie '27, Alonso De la Fuente Barradas '28, Gabby Shaw '25, Mr. Joe Seagram and Rev’d David Curry. Leading the procession was Chris Turgeon Caseley '26 bearing the Christ Church cross accompanied by Acolytes Victoria Walsh '30, and Caleb DeCoste '30. They were followed by Lily-Beth Fisher '26 carrying the Wooden Cross and leading the Choir and the Grade 6 students, each bearing lighted hand candles. After them was Sokha Ebert '30 bearing the Gospel Book, followed by the readers and musicians. Then Sky Horton '26 with the School Cross accompanied by Acolytes Ewan Shaw '30 and Charlie Arthur '30. Nin Garay de Castro '27 was the Head of School’s chaplain.

Mr. Michael Gnemmi was outstanding on the organ and assisted in the singing of the Matins Responsory which bracketed the whole service. My thanks to all who contributed to this special and holy event.

The last Chapel services for the Junior School and the Grade 10 students for the Michaelmas term were marked with the account of the Annunciation from Luke’s Gospel. Mary’s holy question to the Angel Gabriel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” and her profound response, “Be it unto me according to thy Word” belong to the educational project of our being awakened and attentive to things that are made known to us in the Word proclaimed. The idea of light as triumphant over darkness is a theme common to other religious and philosophical traditions such as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. In its Christian sensibility, Christ is the Word and Light of God who comes as Son and Saviour to which the hymns and carols all emphasize. I wish all of you all the best on your Christmas exams and I hope that you have a holy and blessed Christmas reading break!