This service links the Advent season with Christmas itself. It is based on the great “O” Antiphons, which are chants used before and after the Magnificat at Vespers in the seven days leading up to Christmas Eve. The text of each of these chants begins with the word “O” followed by an attribute of the coming Messiah. Going backwards from the last one, the first letters of the Latin names spell out the words ERO CRAS, which is the Latin for “Tomorrow I will come”, the Advent promise. The service builds on these seven aspects of Advent, all leading to the well-known hymn that unites the Antiphons in one text: O come, O come, Emmanuel.

Choral Music:
The call of wisdom - Will Todd,
A tender shoot - Otto Goldschmidt,
Remember, O thou man - Ravenscroft,
O nata lux – Vytautas Miškinis,
Lift up your heads – Handel,
Tomorrow shall be my dancing day – arr. Willcocks,
Bogoroditsye Dyevo (Ave Maria) - Sergei Rachmaninov,
O Advent - Joanna Forbes L'Strange

This service is completely free to attend and there is no need to book places in advance