The new release O Come Let Us Adore Him is my 29th Christmas instrumental, joining I Saw Three Ships and albums December Peace and December Peace II. You can stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, Amazon Music, and all music services worldwide. You can also click below to listen O Come Let Us Adore Him as you read why and how I composed it.
Throughout 2023 I knew I wanted to finish the year with a new Christmas recording. There are so many wonderful hymns and melodies composed over centuries of time. O Come Let Us Adore Him happened in 1743. I have fond memories of singing the first line at Christmas time since childhood, which is also the chorus for the Christmas hymn O Come All Ye Faithful. Both were written by John Francis Wade.
I wanted the arrangement to be big, symbolizing the enormous amount of adoration, awe, and wonder in heaven when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. As Creator of the universe and Savior of the world He is worthy of my adoration and worship on earth as well. I also wanted to interweave some favorite traditional Christmas hymns into the composition. You will hear portions of Silent Night, Away in a Manger, and Joy to the World, each presented in a unique way, overlaying or complimenting the O Come Let Us Adore Him main theme.
As I worked on this project there was a sense of how breathtaking and awe inspiring the scene in heaven would have been if we could have witnessed it. Following Christ’s humble birth in a manger, we get a glimpse of heaven’s glory in the Luke 2:8-15 Scripture passage, where verses 13 and 14 read, “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’”
To emphasize how big God is and how full His presence was when Jesus came to earth as a new born baby, the music has multiple bass lines with low strings, combined with layers of bass, tenor, alto, and soprano choirs, and shining moments of high strings throughout the piece. The melodies of the main theme and three other Christmas hymns are shared between cello, English horn, French horn, alto and soprano choirs, flute, and oboe. The piano is way in the back and ties everything together as it plays throughout the song. The phrase “O come” is repeated in the beginning, between sections along the way, and at the end, to express the adoration in heaven and on earth for our Savior. Silent Night overlays beautifully with the main theme, Away in a Manger takes turns, and the notes from Joy to the World sing “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.” I wanted “is come” and “O Come” to be played several times to finish the piece, followed by all of the musical elements slowly fading into eternity. Merry Christmas and I hope you enjoy!
How does O Come Let Us Adore Him speak to you this Christmas?
O Come Let Us Adore Him (1743, by John Francis Wade who also wrote O Come All Ye Faithful, using the first line as the chorus)
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
For he alone is worthy, For he alone is worthy, For he alone is worthy, Christ the Lord.
Let’s praise his name together, Let’s praise his name together, Let’s praise his name together, Christ the Lord.
We’ll give him all the glory, We’ll give him all the glory, We’ll give him all the glory, Christ the Lord.
