I like basically every Christmas hymn--they are all beautiful and wonderful and full of praise, rejoicing, and reverence. So please excuse my ever effusing over them! This was a hymn I liked all growing up, but it became especially wonderful when we sang it in 8th/9th grade choir. And...I got to be in the descant. I loved those descants in choir! And the one for this song was lovely. I find myself holding back every time I sing this song, wanting to soar up on a couple of notes to show even more my "sing[ing] in exultation," my little attempt to convey how I want to give Him all the glory I can.
From the history book
Oh I like the words it begins with in description--regal and dignified. Very true. Interesting here: "decades of research by Christian scholars have failed to resolve the question of its origins." There were 7 manuscripts that included the hymn, all by the same copyist John Wade. He could have been the author as well, but he never claimed authorship. Originally written in Latin, the hymn name Adeste Fideles was its first line which meant "Be present [draw near], ye faithful." The original translation from the Latin was "Ye faithful, approach ye," which was changed to what we now know.
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