“Adeste Fideles”

"Adeste Fideles" is the name of a hymn tune written by John Francis Wade in 1743 and the first line of the Latin text for which the tune was written. The text itself has less clear beginnings, and may have been written as early as the 13th century, though it has been concluded that Wade himself was probably the author ^[1]. The original four verses of the hymn were extended to a total of eight, and these have been translated into many languages many times, though the English O come all ye faithful is particularly widespread.

The start of Adeste Fideles.

Tune

Before the emergence of John Francis Wade as the probable composer, the tune had been purported to be written by several musicians; from John Reading and his son, to Handel including a Portuguese musician, Marcos Antonio da Fonesca who wasn't born until after the tune was first published. There are several similar musical themes written around that time, though it can be hard to determine whether these were written in imitation of the hymn, the hymn was based on them, or they are totally unconnected.

The earliest existing manuscript shows both words and tune. It was published in the 1760 edition of Evening Offices of the Church. John Francis Wade included it in his own publication of Cantus Diversi (1751). It also appeared in Samuel Webbe's An Essay on the Church Plain Chant (1782).

Text

The original text was at one time attributed to various groups and individuals, including claims that it was written by the 13th century saint St. Bonaventura or King John IV of Portugal. Though it was more commonly believed that the text was written by an order of monks, the Cistercian, German, Portuguese and Spanish orders have, at various times been given credit. It is also possible that the tune was written by one of Wade's contemporary Roman Catholic Jacobites, though it does seem likely that Wade himself wrote the words and then the tune to fit.

The original text consisted of four Latin verses, and it was with these that the hymn was originally published, however The Abbé Etienne Jean Francois Borderies wrote an additional three verses in the early 18th century. These are normally printed as the third to fifth of seven verses, while another anonymous additional Latin verse is rarely printed. The text has been translated innumerable times, but the most used version today is the English "O come all ye faithful", this is a combination of one of Frederick Oakeley's translations of the original four verses, and by William Thomas Brooke of the remainder, which was first published in Murray's Hymnal in 1852.

Performance

In performance verses are often omitted, either because the hymn is too long in its entirety or because the words are unsuitable for the day on which they are sung. For example the eighth anonymous verse is only sung on Epiphany, if at all; while the last verse of the original is normally reserved for Christmas day or midnight Mass.

In the UK it is most often sung today in an arrangement with a descant verse 6 and unison verse 7 by Sir David Willcocks, published in the Oxford Carols for Choirs series. It is the second-last hymn sung at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in King's College, Cambridge, after the last lesson from Chapter 1 of the Gospel of John.

The tune has been adapted many times and the entire hymn is very popular, for example:

• Victor Hely-Hutchinson included this carol in the first and last movements of his Carol Symphony. Franz Liszt wrote a transcription as the fourth movement of his Weihnachtsbaum cycle (S186).

• This song was reportedly the favorite Christmas hymn of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. (See Christmas at the White House). The chant "Why Are We Waiting?", which is frequently performed spontaneously at public gatherings to express frustration at delays, is also sung to the same tune.

• American pop/rock band Hanson recorded a part of "O Come All Ye Faithful" on their album Snowed In (1997).

• In Swedish, two lyrics versions exists "O kommen, I trogne" and "Dagen är kommen". Swedish pop singer Carola Häggkvist covered "Dagen är kommen" on her 1999 Christmas album "Jul i Betlehem".

• US rock group Twisted Sister covered the song as "O Come All Ye Faithful" on their 2006 Christmas album "A Twisted Christmas", arranged in the style of their 1984 hit song "We're Not Gonna Take It". "Adeste Fideles" is said to have inspired them to "We're Not Gonna Take It".

• Punk-Rock group Lagwagon in their song Razor Burn.

The Portuguese hymn

The hymn was known for a while as the Portuguese hymn after the Duke of Leeds in 1795 heard the hymn being sung at the Portuguese embassy in London and incorrectly assumed that it had originated from Portugal^[1] The translation that he heard differs greatly from the Oakeley-Brooke translation and is printed below in part.

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Hither, ye faithful,

haste with songs of triumph,

to Bethlehem haste,

the Lord of life to meet;

To you this day is

born a Prince and Savior;

O come and let us worship

O come and let us worship

O come and let us worship

at His feet

Shout His almighty name

ye choirs of angels,

and let the celestial

courts His praise repeat;

Unto our God be

glory in the highest,

O come and let us worship

O come and let us worship

O come and let us worship

at His feet

References

External links

• Adeste Fideles, the Latin text on Wikisource
• O come all ye faithful, an English translation on Wikisource
• Easybyte - free easy piano music for Adeste Fideles
• [1] - original Latin and English translation

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