Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.

Friday, December 10, 2021

"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"

About two years ago, I noticed a couple small features in the seventh verse of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel":
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
The hymn is sung to the tune "Veni Emmanuel."  Here's the second musical phrase:


In the line "In one the hearts of all mankind," "all" is sung with a melisma (A F# E), musically giving a sense of breadth.

The third musical phrase:


In the line "Bid Thou our sad divisions cease," "divisions" is sung with a melisma (F# G F# E).  The syllables are divided among more notes than they would be normally, so there's a sense of the word's meaning.