The O Antiphons are chanted during Vespers in Advent. They were in use no later than the eighth century, and possibly as early as the sixth.
I made a photo series that, for each image, combines one of the antiphons with one quotation from Dom Prosper Gueranger’s The Liturgical Year. I have also added manuscripts from a variety of European places and centuries, illuminating how the O Antiphons have been sung and written throughout our Catholic history.
I am greatly indebted to the Cantus Database for indexing so many beautiful manuscripts.
