“In 2004 I was the twenty-third composer to be commissioned by Martein Fridriksson and the Reykjavik Cathedral choir for their annual “Soli Deo Gloria” festival. I wrote Advent Antiphons for them—a setting of the Great O Antiphons which are sung before the Magnificat over seven days before Christmas. The texts were not designed to be sung all at once, but I have set them here in this way, in a concert setting. The beginning of the plainsong melody appears in different guises at the beginning of each antiphon, and the free voices in the third and fifth antiphon imitate the voices of birds—something that to me reflects Cantus Arcticus a beautiful concerto for taped birdsong and orchestra by the Finnish composer Eino Rautavaara which I love. I was fortunate enough to go to Reykjavik for five days to rehearse and conduct the first performance, and to experience the warmth of the people there, and the beautiful and unique landscape.” (2007)

I

O Sapientia

Latin:
O Sapientia,
quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae

English:
O Wisdom,
coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other,
mightily and sweetly ordering all things:

Come and teach us the way of prudence.

II

O Adonai

Latin:
O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,
qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti:
veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

English:
O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,
who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush,
and gave him the law on Sinai:

Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

III

O Radix Jesse

Latin:
O radix Jesse,
qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

English:
O Root of Jesse,
standing as a sign among the peoples;
before you kings will shut their mouths,
to you the nations will make their prayer:

Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

IV

O Clavis David

Latin:
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;
qui aperis, et nemo claudit;
claudis, et nemo aperit:
veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,
sedentem in tenebris et umbra mortis.

English:
O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;
you open and no one can shut;
you shut and no one can open:

Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,
those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

V

O Oriens

Latin:
O Oriens,
splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

English:
O Morning Star,
splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:

Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

VI

O Rex gentium

Latin:
O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.

English:
O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one:

Come and save the human race,
which you fashioned from clay.

VII

O Emmanuel

Latin:
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.

English :
O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:

Come and save us, O Lord our God.

The Mystic Nativity by SANDRO BOTTICELLI (1500) Oil on Canvas, 108.6cm x 74.9 cm, The National Gallery London.

Christ’s birth is celebrated as the glorious revelation of God on Earth in this unique and colourful image by Botticelli. No fewer than 20 angels – all carrying leafy olive branches, a symbol of peace – preside over the revelry.

The event takes place in a glade within a forest; the stable where, according to the Gospel writers, Christ was born, is represented imaginatively as a thatched roof pitched over the opening of a rocky cavern. The infant Christ reaches up towards the Virgin Mary, oblivious of his visitors – the Three Kings on the left and the shepherds on the right, who have been ushered towards him by angels. The golden dome of heaven has opened up and become visible from earth; it is circled by 12 angels holding olive branches entwined with scrolls and hung with crowns which swing as they dance.

The meeting of the divine and the human in the newborn Christ is shown symbolically in the dance-like embrace of three pairs of angels and men who form a rhythmic frieze in the foreground. Among their feet, winged demons and horned little devils scuttle for shelter in the underworld through cracks in the rocks. This is an unusual sight in a nativity scene but it is key to the understanding of Botticelli’s mystical creation, as revealed by the inscription at the top. In this, Botticelli interprets contemporary political events – which he calls ‘the troubles of Italy’ – in the light of the biblical Book of Revelation, which foretells the details of the end of the world and Christ’s second coming. The ‘troubles’ are probably a reference to the invasion of the French, who took Naples in 1494 and Milan in 1499, and to the civil strife in Florence itself. Botticelli has associated these events with chapter 11 of Revelation, which describes the invasion of the Holy City by Gentiles and the devil being unleashed. Christ’s return to earth would bring an end to this period of upheaval and the devil would be buried, as in this picture.

The apocalyptic message of the inscription reflects the teachings of Girolamo Savonarola, the popular and radical preacher whose sermons were causing a stir in Florence from the 1490s. After the death of Lorenzo de' Medici and the expulsion of his son Piero, Savonarola’s power in the city – now leaderless – grew even stronger, and Botticelli is thought to have been a keen follower. Savonarola saw the French invasion as divine retribution for the moral demise of the Italian states and was equally critical of what he saw as the overly luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Florence. He isolated the city from its closest allies, particularly the Pope, and was eventually publicly executed in 1498.

After the political turbulence of the previous decade and the death of his spiritual and moral guide, Botticelli in this picture looks forward to the fulfilment of peace and to man’s reconciliation with God, as initiated by the Incarnation and expected to be achieved fully, according to the Book of Revelation, with Christ’s return.