O Come All Ye Faithful! has been sung in churches of all denominations for almost two hundred years and sung n Catholic masses for much longer. In the past century it has been recorded hundreds of times by some of the greatest entertainers in history.
It is even one of the few traditional religious carols to land on the record charts. making it to the top ten three times. It has been translated into more than 150 languages, used in thousands of cantatas and musical productions, and called by some critics “the greatest carol ever written.” It is amazing, therefore, that the song’s author remained unknown until just after World War 2.
O Come All Ye Faithful – An Unkown Author
For several hundred years it was believed that the person who wrote “O Come, All Ye Faithful” was an unknown cleric from the Middle Ages or even before. Legend had it that Saint Bonaventura had penned the words.
So, it came as quite a shock when English scholar Maruice Frost discovered seven “O Come All Ye Faithful” transcripts written by hand and signed by an English Catholic priest named John Francis Wade. How Wade’s authorship of this great carol remained unknown for more than two hundred years is a mystery that may never be solved, yet the story behind how the Catholic cleric came to write “O Come, All Ye Faithful” is one of adventure.
John Wade was a man of God caught in the middle of a Holy War. In 1745, at the age of thirty-five, Wade’s life was on the line. Strife between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic church was at an all-time high. Many practicing Catholics were forced to take their faith underground. To avoid prison or death, many priests fled Britain, including John Wade.
He made his way to Douay, France, where, in a city inundated by English Catholics and those who opposed the British royal family, Wade was given an important job. Since many Catholic Church records were lost during the conflict in England, Wade was to research and identify historical church music, then carefully record and preserve it for future generations. The man took his job very seriously, leaving no stone unturned in his efforts to save anything of historical or spiritual value. Little could he have realized just how profound and long reaching his work would be.
A calligrapher by training, as well as a skilled musician, Wade saved not only historical church songs, he then organized and distributed them to Catholic churches throughout Europe. Through his beautifully detailed drawings and manuscripts, the priest reintroduced many forgotten songs to masses across France and beyond.
Wade reclaimed old pieces but also was inspired to write new hymns. As a Catholic cleric, it was only natural that he compose his new works in Latin. In or around 1750, Wade put the finishing touches on what would become his most famous tune, “Adeste Fideles.” He published it in his own book, Cantus Diversi, the next year.
A decade later he completed and put lyrics to his melody. Yet somehow, even though it was published at least two different times with John Wade credited as being the composer, credit for writing “Adest Fideles” remained a mystery when Frederrick Oakely translated the original lyrics into English in 1841. At about that time, many legends about the song’s author began to take seed, but none of them named John Wade.
In the 1800s, Saint Bonaventura somehow emerged as the original writer of the song. There may be at least some fact in this legend. It is possible that Wade came across the writings of Bonaventura when he was doing his work in France, and that Bonaventura’s songs might have inspired or influenced Wade’s work during this period.
The next-and often still repeated-legend began in London around 1860, when “O Come, All Ye Faithful” was performed in the Portuguese embassy. The organist, Vincent Novello, informed his audience that a man named John Redding had composed the melody.
While Redding seemed to have taken credit for writing “O Come All Ye Faithful,” Wade’s manuscripts, penned more than a century before Redding’s birth, completely void his claim. The song was, however, published by Redding and is often called the “Portuguese Hymn.” Because of this, many believed that the Englishman wrote the music, but that an unknown man from Portugal penned the words. The Bonaventura and Redding tales are just two of many that supposedly pin down the origins of “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
In America, as in most of the world, the song was adopted by many Christian churches before 1900. It was also one of the focal points of the caroling movement that swept the country. Mobile choirs, going from house to house singing songs of the Christmas season, always sang “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” More often than not, each performance closed with the mighty chorus.
During the 1905 Christmas season, the greatest American vocal group of the period, the Peerless Quartet, recorded and released the carol. At a time when radio had yet to introduce music to the masses, thousands of copies of this Christmas single were sold. The single even hit number seven on the “National Hit Parade.” The only Christmas recording among the more than one hundred Peerless Quartet hit songs, “O Come, All Ye Faithful” became the group’s signature holiday anthem.
The world’s most famous Irish tenor, John McCormack, took John Wade’s carol to number two on the national playlists in 1915. A decade later the American Glee Club proved again that “O Come All Ye Faithful” was still America’s favorite Christmas song. In a medium where very few Christian songs found universal favor, the song remained the most beloved holiday offering until Bing Crosby cut “White Christmas.” Of course, on that same album release, Crosby also placed his own version of “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” It was at that time that Maurice Frost finally sifted through all the legends and uncovered the song’s real writer, finally granting John Francis Wade the credit he so richly deserved.
Wade’s authorship and genius should be acknowledged. Even though he was living in a time of great conflict between various branches of the Christian Church, forced to give up the country he loved as a sacrifice of faith, and made to work long hours trying to preserve church records that others were attempting to erase for all time, Wade fully reveled in his role as a servant of his Lord.
In every word and verse of “O Come All Ye Faithful,” the composer’s faith is not just verified, it is magnified. At a time when the church was literally at war, only someone who truly believed in the holiness of Christ could have written a carol that would bring all Christians together to the same place each Christmas – bowing before Christ the Lord!
O Come All Ye Faithful songs and versions
O Come All Ye Faithful Chords
O Come All Ye Faithful Lyrics
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem
O come and behold Him, born the King of Angels
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord
O come, all ye faithful
O come, all ye faithful
O come, all ye faithful to Bethlehem
O come, all ye faithful
O come, all ye faithful
O come, all ye faithful to Bethlehem
O sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation
O come, o come ye to Bethlehem
O come and behold Him, born the King of Angels
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord
O come, all ye faithful
O come, all ye faithful
O come, all ye faithful to Bethlehem
O come, all ye faithful
O come, all ye faithful
O come, all ye faithful to Bethlehem
O come all ye
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye faithful to Bethlehem
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye faithful to Bethlehem
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye faithful
Born the King of Angels
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye faithful
O come all ye faithful to Bethlehem
O Come All Ye Faithful sheet Music
O Come All Ye Faithful Piano
For Further Reading on “O Come All Ye Faithful” – Follo this Link…
O Come, All Ye Faithful – Wikipedia
