O Come Emmanuel: A Musical Tour of Daily Readings for Advent and Christmas

Make Christmas special this year by exploring the legends, message, and theology behind some of your favorite carols and hymns. This book of daily devotions will take you from December 1 to January 6, from the first days of Advent, through Christmas, ending at Epiphany. Each day, Gordon Giles invites you to draw closer to God through spiritual and historical explorations of beloved, familiar music.
As you read and reflect, you will be asked to consider the meaning of some of the famous Christmas carols that we sometimes sing without a passing thought. You will be introduced to obscure saints as well as living poets and musicians of faith, and you will hear the timeless truths of love and forgiveness, pain and loss, darkness and light.
"If, like me, you have always been confused by the imagery of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas, ' you will find this book both compelling and illuminating. Gordon Giles has selected a kaleidoscopic mixture of musical settings of scripture, hymns and carols, from Gibbons to Taize, Plainchant to Kendrick, via Bach, Berlioz, Vaughan Williams, Menotti and many others. He writes with engaging insight and perception, providing us with material for reflection, prayer and meditation."
--John Scott, Organist and Director of Music, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York City