English music copyist Francis Wade must have had no idea as he scribed this song in 1744 of it's destiny. It's tremendous popularity is the result of it's exalted melody and message, translated today into more than 125 languages. It isn't certain if Mr. Wade actually wrote the piece himself. His reputation as a copier of beautiful musical scores suggests another source, possibly a Frenchman, since Wade actually produced the work in Douay, France.
"O Come..." is also known by the first two words of its Latin version, "Adeste, fideles," and many hymnals label it "Portuguese Hymn," since it was quite popular at the Portuguese Embassy in London in the late 1700s.
