- Silent Night
"Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht") is a popular
Christmas carol . The originallyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in German by the Austrian priest FatherJosef Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber. The version of the melody that is generally sung today differs slightly (particularly in the final strain) from Gruber's original. Today, the lyrics and melody are in thepublic domain .History
The carol was first performed in the Nicola-Kirche (Church of St. Nicholas) in Oberndorf,
Austria onDecember 24 ,1818 . Mohr had composed the words much earlier, in1816 , but onChristmas Eve brought them to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody andguitar accompaniment for the church service [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christmas/carols_2.shtml BBC Religion & Ethics] .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 says that the first mention of a broken organ was in a book published in the U.S. in 1909.
Some historians 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. The Nicola-Kirche was demolished in the early 1900s due to
flood damage and because the town's centre 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 [http://www.stillenacht.info/en/kapelle/e_webcam.htm "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 earliestmanuscript 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 Austrianfolk music andyodelling .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
Carolino Augusteum Museum inSalzburg .It is believed that the carol has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects around the world, and it is one of the most popular carols of all time. It is sometimes sung without musical accompaniment. Although written by Catholics, it is given special significance in Lutheranism.
The song was sung simultaneously in English and German by troops during the
Christmas truce [Stanley Weintraub Silent Night: The Remarkable Christmas Truce of 1914. New York: Free Press, 2001.] of 1914, as it was one of the few carols that soldiers on both sides of the front line knew.The song has been successfully recorded by over 300 artists, particularly successful by Bing Crosby and Mahalia Jackson.
A
1988 dramatisedtelevision documentary called "Silent Mouse" tells the story of the creation of the carol from a mouse's point of view. It featuredLynn Redgrave as narrator, andGregor Fisher in one of the leading roles.Lyrics
As translated by John Freeman Young (1820 - 1885) - "Out of copyright" [Hymns Old & New Anglican Edition 1996]
Silent night, holy night.All is calm, all is brightRound yon virgin mother and childHoly infant so tender and mildSleep in heavenly peaceSleep in heavenly peace Silent night, holy night.Shepherds quake at the sight,Glories stream from heaven afar,Heav'nly hosts sing alleluia:Christ the Saviour is born,Christ the Saviour is born.
Silent night, holy nightSon of God, love's pure light,Radiant beams from thy holy face,With the dawn of redeeming grace:Jesus, Lord, at thy birth,Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.
* [http://www.wikichristian.org/index.php/Silent_Night_%28song%29#German_words German Lyrics available at wikichristian.org]Samples
Arrangements
* [http://www.webalice.it/antoniozingale Antonio Zingale] composed a new arrangement of "Silent night" for choir and orchestra (2008) and one for clarinet and piano (2008).
*Bertold Hummel : "SILENT NIGHT, 3 Variations" for Speaker and mixed Choir a cappella [http://www.bertoldhummel.de/english/commentaries/opus_silentnight.html]External links
*Free arrangements for [http://cantorion.org/music/15/Silent+Night piano] and [http://cantorion.org/music/54/Silent+Night voice] from "Cantorion.org" (cc-by-sa)
* [http://www.allchristmaslyrics.com/silent_night_lyrics.htm Silent Night Lyrics] Christmas Lyrics to Silent Night Christmas Carol / Christmas song
* [http://stillenacht.at Stille-Nacht-Association, Salzburg] , [http://stillenacht.at/en/text_and_music.asp text and music] , [http://stillenacht.at/music/strophe1.mp3 verse1 (de)] , [http://stillenacht.at/music/strophe4.mp3 verse4 (de)]
* [http://silentnight.web.za/history/index.htm History of song]
* [http://silentnight.web.za Silent Night Web] : translations (193 versions in 130 languages), notation, and history.
* [http://www.orgelbau.at/german/orgeln/orgeldetail_external.php?id=1&lang=de Joseph Mohr Memorial Organ, Wagrain, Austria]References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
