At the time, he was an intern for the Sistine Chapel Choir in Rome and studying at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music.

[2] The album takes its inspiration from the spirit of Sacrosanctum Concilium, a Second Vatican Council document calling for a suitable place to be given to musical traditions of the world in the context of religious life.

[2][3] The songs Wright chose to compose for the album were inspired by O Antiphons, Christian prayers sung by Catholics in the final week of Advent during vespers.

[3][7] All tracks are written by J.J. WrightUpon its release, O Emmanuel rose to the top of the Billboard Traditional Classical Albums chart and remained there for eight weeks.

[8] Mary Kunz Goldman, writing in The Buffalo News, described the song's charting as "impressive" in light of the album's fusion of jazz with gregorian chant.