One of the great Advent hymns is “Lo He Comes With Clouds Descending”. It deals with the second coming of Christ, one of the themes of Advent.
I chose two version of the same hymn. The first is from Lichfield Cathedral (dedicated to St. Chad and St. Mary) in Staffordshire, England. It is the only mediveal cathedral in England with three spires. Just think, at one time this magnificent cathedral was Roman Catholic. England is known as “Our Lady’s Dowry”.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjn3fBTvBjY]
The second version has the embedding disabled, so I can’t put it up on the site. The instrumentation is very different than the first. The first is more choral and the second is more ornamented, especially with trumpets that herald the second coming of Christ. It gives me the shivers listening to it. Here, for your listening pleasure, is a link to it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08cGl44SWGM&feature;=related
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By far my favorite Advent hymn. Ever.
This and Bach's "Wake, Awake, For Night Is Flying."
Yes, old "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Steimme". Know it well. Had an alarm clock that played.
Beautiful. When I think of what happened to Catholic England, it makes me want to cry.