Song facts
- Original key
- E minor
- Type
- Christmas carol
- Music
- Traditional (VENI EMMANUEL), adapted by Thomas Helmore (died 1890)
- Original lyrics
- John Mason Neale (translator) (died 1866)
- First published
- 1851
Public-domain songs · Christmas carol instrumental
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Play the O Come, O Come, Emmanuel instrumental in the original key of E minor, or from 3 semitones lower to 2 higher. Made by MR Maker from a public-domain score.
Last reviewed:
Backing track by key
The original key is E minor. If it sits too high or too low for your voice, try the shifted versions and pick the one you can sing comfortably.
3 semitones lower (C♯ minor)
2 semitones lower (D minor)
Original key (E minor)
2 semitones higher (F♯ minor)
About this song
Its roots are the medieval O Antiphons, sung at Vespers in the days before Christmas. A rhymed Latin version was printed in 1693 and again in a 1710 Cologne collection; John Mason Neale, warden of Sackville College in East Grinstead, made his English translation in 1851. The chant-like tune VENI EMMANUEL came through The Hymnal Noted, and in 1966 Mary Berry located it in a 15th-century French processional. Sung throughout Advent today, it appears in E minor in the 1917 Common Service Book.
Rights
The melody is in the public domain (first published 1851). MR Maker made this accompaniment from a public-domain score. It contains no lyrics, translations or third-party recordings.
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