Latin version: John Francis Wade/ Abbe Etienne Jean Francois Borderies)
(English version: John FrancisWade/Frederick Oakeley/William Thomas Brooke)
This Christmas carol has been identified as having the words and music originally written by John Francis Wade sometime in the 1740s, possibly 1743 or earlier, and published as “In Nativitate Domini Hymnus” in his Cantus Diversi pro Dominicis et Festis of 1751. It would later appear with words and music in Evening of the Offices of the Church in 1760 and An Essay on the Church Plain Chant by Samuel Webbe in 1782.
It has undergone many, many changes throughout its history and has been mistakenly taken for a medieval Latin hymn and also mistakenly ascribed to King John IV of Portugal and Saint Bonaventure. It is sometimes called the “Portuguese Hymn” for the simple reason it was played at the Portuguese Embassy by Samuel Webbe and after the Duke of Leeds had heard it there he commissioned a “fuller arrangement” of it by Thomas Greatorex.
The lyrics were originally written in Latin, possibly when John Wade had fled England in the Jacobite Rebellion and settled in Douia, France, and he would never translate them into English himself. This honour went to Frederick Oakeley and William Thomas Brooke about a century later who translated Verses 1, 2, 3 and 6 and stanzas 4 and 6 respectively, and they were published in Murray’s Hymnal of 1852 under the name “O Come All Ye Faithful.”
“Adeste, Fideles” is still used for performances of the Latin version of this hymn with the fifth, sixth and seventh verses being added by Abbe Etienne Jean Francois Borderies around 1822 and yet a further verse being added in the mid 1800s for the Epiphany by an unknown author. The music, especially the initial tune part, has been thought to be partly taken from an adaptation of the song called “Air Angolis” which was transcribed for a Roman Catholic choir from the song “Rage Inutile” which appeared in the comic opera Acajou written by Charles Simon Favart in 1744. The most popular arrangement to be sung today is by Sir David Willcocks and is annually heard at King’s College, Cambridge, in the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
Often used by other composers it has been featured in Leroy Anderson’s A Christmas Festival, Victor Hely-Hutchinson’s Carol Symphony and the fourth movement of Franz Liszt’s Weihnachtsbaum cycle. On the European continenent, especially France and Germany, it is known as “The Midnight Mass” as monks took it and adapted it into a procession piece for Christmas Eve.
Popular artists that have used all or part of the carol are the group Hanson and the Swedish singer Carola Haggkvist and Twisted Sister took inspiration from it for their song “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. The most heard parody is when crowds get together and sing “Why Are We Waiting” to its tune.
BBC Welsh Chorus recordings
Nimbus NI5310 (CD: Celebration: Christmas Fanfares & Carols)
Conductor – John Hugh Thomas
Trumpets – Fanfare Trumpeters of the Welsh Guards
Organ -Huw Tregelles Williams
Paul Bisaccia recordings
Adeste Fidelis as March of the Three Kings from Christmas Tree Suite (Weihnachtsbaum) (John Francis Wade/Franz Liszt/Traditional)
Towerhill TH-72002 (CD: Paul Bisaccia – Classic Christmas, Jazz Christmas)
Arranger- Franz Liszt
Black Dyke Mills Band recordings
Chandos 4541 (CD: A Christmas Fantasy)
Choir – Huddersfield Choral Society
Conductor – Roy Newsome
Boston Pops recordings
Philips 416 287 – 2 (CD: We Wish You a Merry Christmas)
Conductor – John Williams
Choir – Tanglewood Festival Chorus
Choirmaster – John Oliver
DG 419 414-2 (CD: White Christmas)
Conductor – Arthur Fiedler
RCA 09026-61685-2 (CD: Pops Christmas Party)
Conductor – Arthur Fiedler
Sony SK 48232 (CD: Joy to the World)
Conductor – John Williams
Choir – Tanglewood Festival Chorus
Choirmaster – John Oliver
Chicago Symphony Low Brass Ensemble recordings
VOX 7501 (CD: Christmas with the Symphony Brass of Chicago)
Conductor – Barry Faldner
Arturo Delmoni recordings
Adeste Fidelis (John Francis Wade)
John Marks Records JMR 12 (CD: Rejoice!)
Violin – Arturo Delmoni
Violin – Alexander Romanul
Viola – Katherine Murdock
Cello – Nathaniel Rosen
Connie Francis recordings
Adeste Fidelis (Frederick Oakeley/John Frances Wade)
Polygram HMCD 3001 (CD: Christmas In My Heart)
Vocals – Connie Francis
Conductor – Geoff Love
Harvard University Choir recordings
Pro Organo CD 7134 (Christmas in the Busch)
Conductor – Murray Forbes Somerville
Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra
Director – Robert Mealy
The Harvard Brass
Soprano – Awet Andemichael
Bass – Mark Risinger
Organists – Erica Johnson and Edward Jones
Paul Hill Chorale recordings
O Come All Ye Faithful (Frederick Oakeley/John Francis Wade)
Centaur CRC 2258 (CD: A Paul Hill Chorale Christmas)
Arranger – Jackson Berkey
Conductor – Paul Hill
Organist – Sondra Proctor
National Capital Brass and Percussion Ensemble
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra recordings
Angel 7243 5 66087 2 6 (CD: The Music of Christmas)
Conductor – Carmen Dragon
Kings College Choir, Cambridge recordings
London 444 848 (CD: Noel – Christmas at Kings)
Conductor – Sir David Willcocks
Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra recordings
Naxos 8.990005 (CD: Christmas Festival)
Conductor – Richard Hayman
Rochester Pops Orchestra
Koch CHD 1531 (CD: Joy to the World Carols for Orchestra and Chorus)
St Louis Philharmonic Orchestra recordings
Sonari records – 7 55724 00272 3 (CD: Christmas with the Philharmonic)
Conductor – Robert Hart Baker
Robert Shaw Chorale Recordings
RCA 6429 – 2 – RG (CD: A Festival of Carols)
Arrangers – Robert Shaw/Alice Parker
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice
Adeste Fidelis (John Francis Wade)
Naxos 8.550301 (CD: Christmas Goes Baroque)
Conductor – Peter Breiner
Benita Valente & The Philadelphia Singers recordings
Adeste Fidelis (John Francis Wade)
RCA 6559-2-RC (Gloria! Gloria!)
Soprano – Benita Valente
Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Singers
Roger Wagner Chorale recordings
Delos 3072 (CD: To Catch a Christmas Star)
Conductor – Roger Wagner
California State University Handbell Choir
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