Byzantine Carols and Services for the Nativity Fast

The Byzantine Rite is, unfortunately, woefully lacking in hymns and traditions for Advent and Christmastide compared to the Roman Rite, particularly the rich old English tradition.  Liturgically, outside of the Matins Katavasia (the Nativity katavasia are first used on November 21), there is no preparation for the Nativity until two Sundays beforehand.  The Byzantine Rite has the Nativity Fast itself, of course, but it has no traditions like the Advent Wreath.  Some have tried to adapt Latin traditions: for instance, Elissa Bjeletich put an Orthodox spin on the Jesse Tree with her 2016 book Welcoming the Christ Child: Family Readings for the Nativity Fast.  (Originally, the book was packaged with a set of ornaments, to form a true Jesse Tree; the ornaments seem out of print, but a Kindle version of the book is available, and the paperback still appears available from the publisher, St. Sebastian Orthodox Press.)

There are a couple of paraliturgical services: the Metropolitan Cantor Institute has an Emmanuel Moleben, and there is a traditional Akathist for the Nativity Fast.  (Here is a PDF booklet with music, a bare-text PDF, and the bare text on a webpage.)

Outside of these, there are also a handful of carols.  The one I know best (as the former cantor at my parish used to sing it every Sunday during the Nativity Fast) is "Come, O Jesus": it is on p. 83 of the Metropolitan Cantor Institute's draft copy of their Traditional Hymns of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh (2020).  This hymn is an antiphonal litany, with a string of petitions incorporating various titles of Christ, followed by a refrain.  

Other carols can be found among the works of the late Orthodox composer and cantor Richard Toensing (1940-2014).  His website includes PDFs of much of his work, including his Carols of the Nativity, many of them adapted from liturgical texts.  Some of these are from pre-Nativity texts, so they are well-suited for use in the Nativity Fast.  My particular favorite is "In Olden Days"; note that the link found on Mr. Toensing's "Orthodox Music" page fails to link to this document, but I was able to locate the correct page via a search.  A similar issue occurs for "Foreshadowed by the Burning Bush."

 (Note also that a recording of many of Mr. Toensing's carols can be found on Capella Romana's 2008 album Richard Toensing: Kontakion on the Nativity of Christ.)

This is a small collection of resources for the Nativity Fast, but it is a start; perhaps someday I can pen some carols of my own.

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