Advent, Day 16: A Great Light

The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
    on them light has shined.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
For a child has been born for us,
    a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders,
    and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Great will be his authority,
    and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
    He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

—Isaiah 9:2, 6–7

LOOK: Sunlight in Forest by Charles Burchfield

Burchfield, Charles_Sunlight in Forest — Charles Burchfield (American, 1893–1967), *Sunlight in Forest*, 1916. Watercolor and graphite pencil on paper, 20 × 13 15/16 in. (50.8 × 35.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Photo: Victoria Emily Jones. [object record]

LISTEN: “Isaiah’s Prophecy” | Words by Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, after Isaiah 9:2, 6–7 | Music by Alexander L’Estrange | Performed by London Voices, dir. Ben Parry, with Richard Gowers on organ, on Winter Light (2024)

The people who walked in darkness,
who live in a land of dark,
the people who walked in darkness,
have seen a great light.

Refrain:
And all because a child is born!
And all because a child is born!
To us a son is given.

He’ll be the Wonderful Counselor,
the Everlasting Father.
He’ll be the Wonderful Counselor,
he’ll be the Prince of Peace. [Refrain]

He’ll reign on the throne of David,
establishing and upholding it.
He’ll reign on the throne of David
from then and evermore.

Ending:
And all because a child is born!
And all because a son is giv’n!
The people who walked in darkness
will walk, will walk in the light—
walk in the light!

This work by the British choral composer Alexander L’Estrange has a steady, funky groove, with a time signature that alternates between 7/8, 4/4, and 3/4.

“The contrast between ‘the people who walked in darkness’ and the ‘child is born’ is highlighted by the shift from the harmonic minor tonality of the verses to the major tonality of the refrain,” L’Estrange writes in his composer’s note. “Enjoy the moment at the end of each refrain where the organist stops playing and the choir sings ‘to us a son is given,’ taking us back to the minor for the next verse.”

The score is available from GIA Publications.