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Well, I said I might be back. But as we roll into Christmas, I will probably keep this really brief.
Silent Night is probably one of the more famous Christmas carols. It’s been covered by hundreds of singers, from Annie Lennox (from the Eurythmics, that 1980s pop duo) to country songwriter Skip Ewing. It’s probably been sung in every possible way, whether it be with a massive orchestra, a towering pipe organ, a single acoustic guitar, or simply acapella. And it’s been sung in tons of places, like the Vatican, and Jerusalem, and on a street corner, in front of a church Nativity scene, and in your house.
Everyone may not know the entire song, but most folks could sing the first verse in their sleep. Ok, I take it back…Silent Night is the most famous of Christmas carols.
It was penned in the small village of Oberndorf dei Salzburg, Austria by Father Joseph Mohr in 1816. But without a melody, it was just poetry on a page. It remained that way for two years until, as the story goes, Mohr’s church faced a Christmas Eve crisis. The church’s pipe organ, which had provided music each Mass for time out of mind, suddenly ceased to work.
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
I suppose that, for Mohr, this caused a bit of panic. The service needed music, and drums and guitars and synthesizers and “church bands” were still 150 years in the future. So he turned to Franz Gruber, who lived nearby in the village of Arnsdorf and was a school teacher and the organ player at the church. He trudged through the snow to Gruber’s home, showing him the lyrics and requesting music that someone could play on the guitar.
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born
The two men sat down and Gruber put together the tune and the song Silent Night was born. And that evening…Christmas Eve…December 24, 1818, the song was sung for the first time at the late Christmas Eve Mass.
Silent night, holy night
Son 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
I hope you all have a wonderful, and very safe, Christmas!
