Hymn Of The Week: December 7, 2020

Hymn of the Week: Silent Night, Holy Night!
Glory to God #122

Silent Night, Holy Night!

[Verse 1]
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

[Verse 2]
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing 'Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born

[Verse 3]
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

It was Christmas Eve, 1818, when the now-famous carol was first performed as Stille Nacht Heilige Nacht. Joseph Mohr, the young priest who wrote the lyrics, played the guitar and sang along with Franz Xaver Gruber, the choir director who had written the melody. The story goes that they were set to sing the carol with organ on Christmas Eve that year, but the organ broke down so someone picked up a guitar and the first accompaniment to the beloved carol was with a guitar.

An organ builder and repairman working at the church took a copy of the six-verse song to his home village. There, it was picked up and spread by two families of traveling folk singers, who performed around northern Europe. In 1834, the Strasser family performed it for the King of Prussia. In 1839, the Rainer family of singers debuted the carol outside Trinity Church in New York City.

The composition evolved and was translated into over 300 languages with many different arrangements for various voices and ensembles. It was sung in churches, in town squares, even on the battlefield during World War I, when, during a temporary truce on Christmas Eve, soldiers sang carols from home. "Silent Night," by 1914, known around the world, was sung simultaneously in French, German and English.

Over the years, the carol's mystique grew with its popularity. After the original manuscript was lost, for decades, some speculated that the music had been written by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven. In 1994, an original manuscript was found in Mohr's handwriting, with Gruber named as a composer.

The organ arrangement you are hearing is by David Conte. David was one of the last composition students of the famous teacher, Nadia Boulanger, who also taught composers such

as Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and many of what we now consider some of the greatest composers of the mid-late 20th century.