Silent Night

"Silent Night" (German: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht) is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song Stille Nacht were written in German by the Austrian priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber. In 1819, John Freeman Young (second Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Florida) published the English translation that is most frequently sung today.[1] The version of the melody that is generally sung today differs slightly (particularly in the final strain) from Gruber's original, which was a sprightly, dance-like tune in 6/8, as opposed to the slow, meditative lullaby version generally sung today. Today, the lyrics and melody are in the public domain.

Contents

History

Autograph of the carol by Gruber

The carol was first performed in the Nikolaus-Kirche (Church of St. Nicholas) in Oberndorf, Austria on December 24, 1818. Mohr had composed the words two years earlier, in 1816, but on Christmas Eve brought them to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the church service.[2]

In his written account regarding the composition of the carol, Gruber gives no mention of the specific inspiration for creating the song. According to the song's history provided by Austria's Silent Night Society, one supposition is that the church organ was no longer working so that Mohr and Gruber therefore created a song for accompaniment by guitar. Silent Night historian, Renate Ebeling-Winkler Berenguer says that the first mention of a broken organ was in a book published in the U.S.

Some believe that Mohr simply wanted a new Christmas carol that he could play on his guitar. The Silent Night Society says that there are "many romantic stories and legends" that add their own anecdotal details to the known facts.

Silent Night Museum and Memorial Chapel in Oberndorf

The Nikolaus-Kirche was demolished in the early 1900s due to flood damage and because the town's center was moved up the river to a safer location, with a new church being built there close to the new bridge. A tiny chapel, called the "Stille-Nacht-Gedächtniskapelle" (Silent Night Memorial Chapel), was built in the place of the demolished church and a nearby house was converted into a museum, attracting tourists from all over the world, not only but primarily in December.

The original manuscript has been lost. However a manuscript was discovered in 1995 in Mohr's handwriting and dated by researchers at ca. 1820. It shows that Mohr wrote the words in 1816 when he was assigned to a pilgrim church in Mariapfarr, Austria, and shows that the music was composed by Gruber in 1818. This is the earliest manuscript that exists and the only one in Mohr's handwriting. Gruber's composition was influenced by the musical tradition of his rural domicile. The melody of "Silent Night" bears resemblance to aspects of Austrian folk music and yodelling.

Another popular story claims that the carol, once performed, was promptly forgotten until an organ repairman found the manuscript in 1825 and revived it. However, Gruber published various arrangements of it throughout his lifetime and we now have the Mohr arrangement (ca. 1820) that is kept at the Museum Carolino Augusteum in Salzburg.

The carol has been translated into over 44 languages.[3] It is sometimes sung without musical accompaniment.

The song was sung simultaneously in French, English and German by troops during the Christmas truce[4] of 1914, as it was one of the few carols that soldiers on both sides of the front line knew.

The song has been recorded by over 300 artists, particularly successful in hit versions by Enya (sung in Irish), Andrea Bocelli (sung in Italian), Stevie Nicks, Bing Crosby, Mahalia Jackson, an acoustic version by American R 'n' B group Boyz II Men, and an instrumental version by Mannheim Steamroller. The Mannheim Steamroller backs narratives known as "The God Song" or "God's Silent Night" which have been distributed to radio stations across the USA. Simon and Garfunkel recorded an ironic version of the song in which a depressing radio news report is overheard in the background (7 O'Clock News/Silent Night). There have also been choral recordings by the King's College Choir and the Vienna Boys Choir.

In 1943 the Austrian exile Hertha Pauli wrote the book "Silent Night. A Story of a Song", in which she explained to American children the origin of the song. The book was illustrated by Fritz Kredel and published by Alfred A. Knopf.[5]

A 1988 dramatised television documentary called Silent Mouse tells the story of the creation of the carol from a mouse's point of view. It featured Lynn Redgrave as narrator, and Gregor Fisher in one of the leading roles.

In 2009 a version by Susan Boyle reached #5 on the US Adult Contemporary billboard chart.

Arrangements

References

  1. ↑ Underwood, Byron Edward, "Bishop John Freeman Young, Translator of 'Stille Nacht,'" The Hymn, v. 8, no. 4, Oct. 1957, pp. 123-132.
  2. ↑ BBC Religion & Ethics
  3. ↑ Ronald M. Clancy, William E Studwell. Best-Loved Christmas Carols. Christmas Classics Ltd, 2000.
  4. ↑ Stanley Weintraub Silent Night: The Remarkable Christmas Truce of 1914. New York: Free Press, 2001.
  5. ↑ Hertha Pauli Silent Night. A Story of a Song. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1943.
  6. ↑ http://www.bertoldhummel.de/english/commentaries/opus_silentnight.html

External links