Beloved music accompanies the Advent and Christmas seasons. One particularly great holiday song, originated overseas, is played and sung all throughout the United States: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht! Alles schläft, einsam wacht. Even though these lyrics are in a different language—German—they might feel familiar. The English translation of the first line is “Silent night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright.” These classic words were penned in 1816 by the pastor Joseph Mohr in an Austrian village named Salzburg. Nobody knows exactly why Mohr wrote these words, but many suspect that he found inspiration for them during a cold night while fighting in the Napoleonic Wars.
Two years later, in 1818, a tragic flood ruined the local Salzburg church on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, the organ was destroyed, preventing the church from playing music that evening. The frantic pastor searched the whole town for a person who could transcribe his words into music and found Franz Gruber. Gruber then composed a melody, and Mohr performed the hymn with his voice and guitar to the happy villagers and gave them a memorable Christmas Eve service. That piece is now known as “Silent Night.” Later on, the villagers took this song, caroled to their neighbors, and slowly forgot who had written this hymn. Over the years, the original transcript was lost, and many people suspected that Mozart, Beethoven, or another famous composer had written it. In 1995, a version of an original transcript was found, revealing that Mohr was the author of these words.
These opening lyrics of one of the most popular Christmas carols may be familiar as well:
Angels we have heard on high
Singing sweetly through the night
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains
“Angels We Have Heard on High,” a classic hymn, was written by the Englishman James Chadwick (1813-1882). Sung to the French-traditional tune of “Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes,” written by Edward Shippen Barnes, the lyrics of this hymn herald Jesus’s birth. Describing the story as written in the Gospel of Luke, it tells of the shepherds who encounter a multitude of singing angels at the scene of Christ’s birth. This song is well-known for its long rising and falling sixteenth notes of the prolonged “O.”
Another great Christmas hymn, “Messiah,” was written by George Fredric Handel in 1714. The text was inspired by the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter by Charles Jennens. Handel (1685-1759), a German-British Baroque composer, was renowned for his Italian opera compositions. Even though the “Messiah” is mostly structured after the opera, the piece itself is not dramatic as there are no impersonations of characters and no direct speech. The first part of the song begins with the prophecies of Isaiah and then moves on to the angels’ annunciation to the shepherds. In the second part, Handel concentrates on the Passion of Jesus and ends with the famous Hallelujah chorus. Finally, Handel closes with the teachings of Paul on the resurrection of the dead and Christ’s glorification in Heaven. This majestic and beloved piece brings the Christmas spirit to any listener.
Photo credits: Etsy
Work Cited:
Wikipedia. “Messiah (Handel).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Oct. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_(Handel).
Wikipedia. “Angels We Have Heard on High.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Nov. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_We_Have_Heard_on_High.
Wikipedia. “Silent Night.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Nov. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Night.
This was very interesting! I learned a lot about famous Christmas songs!