Ely Cathedral Choir: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

So I thought I would make a musical advent calendar here - 24 favourite pieces of Christmas music, both sacred and secular.

This hymn of longing for redemption was first published in Germany in 1710, says Wikipedia, though it has been claimed to be much older than that. It found its way, in translation, into English hymnals in the middle of the 19th century.

And the tune with which the words are now firmly associated has its origins in 15th-century France.