Silent Night
Stille Nacht Silent Night | |
---|---|
Christmas carol | |
![]() Autograph(c. 1860) of the carol by Franz Gruber | |
Native name | Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht |
Full title | Silent Night, Holy Night |
Text | Joseph Mohr |
Language | German |
Melody | Franz Xaver Gruber |
Performed | 24 December 1818 |
Published | 1833 |
"Silent Night"(German:"Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht") is a popularChristmas carol,composed in 1818 byFranz Xaver Gruberto lyrics byJoseph MohrinOberndorf bei Salzburg,Austria.[1]It was declared anintangible cultural heritagebyUNESCOin 2011.[2]The song was first recorded in 1905[3]and has remained a popular success, appearing in films and multiple successful recordings, as well as being quoted in other musical compositions. It is the world's most recorded Christmas song, with more than 137,000 known recordings.[4]
History[edit]
"Stille Nacht"was first performed onChristmas Eve1818 at theNikolauskirche,the parish church ofOberndorf,a village in theAustrian Empireon theSalzachriver in present-day Austria. A young Catholic priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had come to Oberndorf the year before. In the aftermath of theNapoleonic Wars,[1]he had written the poem "Stille Nacht"in 1816 atMariapfarr,the hometown of his father in the SalzburgLungauregion, where Joseph had worked as an assistant priest.[5]
The melody was composed byFranz Xaver Gruber,schoolmaster andorganistin the nearby village ofArnsdorf ,now part ofLamprechtshausen.On Christmas Eve 1818, Mohr brought the words to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody andguitaraccompaniment for that night's mass, after river flooding had possibly damaged the church organ.[1][6]The church was eventually destroyed by repeated flooding and replaced with theSilent-Night-Chapel.It is unknown what inspired Mohr to write the lyrics, or what prompted him to create a new carol.[5]
According to Gruber, Karl Mauracher, an organ builder who serviced the instrument at the Oberndorf church, was enamoured of the song, and took the composition home with him to theZillertal.[7]From there, two travelling families of folk singers, the Strassers and the Rainers, included the tune in their shows. The Rainers were already singing it around Christmas 1819, and they once performed it for an audience that includedFranz I of AustriaandAlexander I of Russia,as well as making the first performance of the song in the U.S., in New York City in 1839.[1]By the 1840s the song was well known inLower Saxonyand was reported to be a favourite ofFrederick William IV of Prussia.During this period, the melody changed slightly to become the version that is commonly played today.[5][7]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Autograph_Mohr_Stille_Nacht.png/220px-Autograph_Mohr_Stille_Nacht.png)
Over the years, because the originalmanuscripthad been lost, Mohr's name was forgotten and although Gruber was known to be the composer, many people assumed the melody was composed by a famous composer, and it was variously attributed toHaydn,Mozart,BeethovenorSchubert.[5]However, a manuscript was discovered in 1995 in Mohr's handwriting and dated by researchers asc. 1820.It states 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.[8]
- Original melody
The first edition was published byFriese in 1833 in a collection ofFour Genuine Tyrolean Songs,with the following musical text:[9]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Franz_Xaver_Gruber_%281787-1863%29.jpg/170px-Franz_Xaver_Gruber_%281787-1863%29.jpg)
The contemporary version, as in thechoral examplebelow, is:
Translations[edit]
In 1859, theEpiscopalpriestJohn Freeman Young,then serving atTrinity Church,New York City, wrote and published the English translation that is most frequently sung today, translated from three of Mohr's original six verses.[10]The version of the melody that is generally used today is a slow, meditativelullabyorpastorale,differing slightly (particularly in the final strain) from Gruber's original, which was a "moderato"tune in6
8timeandsicilianarhythm.[11][12]Today, the lyrics and melody are in thepublic domain,although newer translations usually are not.
In 1998 the Silent Night Museum in Salzburg commissioned a new English translation by Bettina Klein of Mohr's German lyrics. For the most part, Klein preserves both Young's translation and the interpretive decisions that inform his word-choices. Yet Klein also attempts occasionally to restore Mohr's original phrasing, changing, for instance, Young's "Holy infant, so tender and mild" to Mohr's "Holy infant with curly hair" (Holder Knab' im lockigten Haar). However, she continues to interpret Mohr'straute heilige Paaras referring to Mary and the baby, whereas Mohr's use of the wordtrautecan mean "espoused," thus suggesting perhaps that the "holy pair" represents Mary and Joseph watching (picking up Mohr'swacht) over the curly-haired infant/boy.[13]
The carol has been translated into about 300 languages.[14]
Lyrics[edit]
German lyrics[15] Young's English lyrics[16] Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Hirten erst kundgemacht
Durch der Engel Halleluja,
Tönt es laut von fern und nah:
Christ, der Retter ist da!
Christ, der Retter ist da!
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht
Lieb' aus deinem göttlichen Mund,
Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund'.
Christ, in deiner Geburt!
Christ, in deiner Geburt!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!
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!
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!
In the second stanza, some English versions read "shepherdsquail"[17][18]rather than "shepherds quake."[19]
Musical settings[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Chapel2.jpg/170px-Chapel2.jpg)
The carol was arranged by various composers, such asCarl Reinecke,Gustav Schreck,Eusebius Mandyczewski,Malcolm Sargent,David Willcocks,Charles Mackerras,Philip Ledger,John Rutter,Stephen Cleobury,Jacob de HaanandTaylor Scott Davis..
Max Regerquotes the tune in the Christmas section of his organ piecesSieben Stücke,Op. 145.
Alfred Schnittkecomposed an arrangement of "Stille Nacht" for violin and piano in 1978, as a holiday greeting for violinistGidon Kremer.Due to its dissonant and nightmarish character, the miniature caused a scandal in Austria.[20][21]
In film[edit]
Several theatrical and television films depict how the song was ostensibly written. Most of them report the organ breaking down at the church in Oberndorf, which appeared in a fictional story published in the U.S. in the 1930s.[6]
- The Legend of Silent Night(1968) TV film directed byDaniel Mann
- Silent Night, Holy Night(1976) animated short film byHanna-Barbera.[22]
- Silent Mouse(1988) television special directed and produced by Robin Crichton and narrated byLynn Redgrave.[23]
- Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night(1998) direct-to-video animated featurette[24]
- Silent Night(2012) directed byChristian Vuissa[25]
- The First Silent Night(2014), documentary narrated bySimon Callow[26]
- Stille Nacht – ein Lied für die Welt(2018), music documentary created and directed byHannes M. Schalle,narrated byPeter Simonischek.[27][28]An English version,Silent Night – A Song for the World(2020), narrated byHugh Bonneville,was released two years later.[29][30]
On record charts[edit]
Several recordings of "Silent Night" have reached the record charts in various countries. These include:
- 1969–1979:Percy SledgeNo. 10 on theDutch Charts[31]
- 1972–1973: Tom Tomson No. 21 on the BelgiumUltratopFlanderschart[32]and No. 10 on itsWalloniachart[33]
- 1975–1976:The CatsNo. 10 on theDutch Charts[34]
- 1991–1992:Sinéad O'ConnorNo. 71 on theDutch Charts[35]
- 1993:EnyaNo. 48 on theAustralian Chartswith an Irish language version of the song.[36]
- 2007–2008:Josh GrobanNo. 5 on the Norwegian Charts[37]and No. 19 on the U.S.BillboardAdult Contemporary Chart[38]
- 2008:GlasvegasNo. 42 on the Swedish Charts[39]
- 2009:Mariah CareyNo. 67 on the U.S.BillboardDigital Song Sales Chart[40]
- 2013–2014:Elvis PresleyNo. 120 on the French Charts[41]
- 2013–2014:Nat King ColeNo. 125 on the French Charts[42]
- 2017:The TemptationsNo. 11 on the Swedish Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) charts[43]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abcdDaley, Jason (17 December 2018)."It's the Bicentennial of 'Silent Night': The classic Christmas tune was first composed as a poem, and it was set to music for the first time in the winter of 1818".Smithsonian.Retrieved12 December2020.
- ^"Österreichische UNESCO-Kommission – Nationalagentur für das Immaterielle Kulturerbe – Austrian Inventory".Retrieved25 December2014.
- ^Berg, Marita (15 December 2013)."Silent Night".Deutsche Welle.Retrieved8 October2020.
- ^Malone, Chris (5 December 2017)."Christmas Classics From Mariah Carey & Wham! Among Most-Recorded Holiday Songs".Billboard.Retrieved12 December2023.
- ^abcdEgan, Bill (December 1999)."Silent Night, Holy Night".Soundscapes.2.University of Groningen.ISSN1567-7745.Archivedfrom the original on 16 December 2017.Retrieved22 December2017.
- ^ab"Christmas carols".BBC. 4 August 2009.Archivedfrom the original on 22 May 2009.Retrieved6 December2011.
- ^ab"Spreading of the Song Locally".Silent Night Association.Archivedfrom the original on 17 December 2017.Retrieved22 December2017.
- ^"Origin of the Song".Silent Night Association.Archivedfrom the original on 15 December 2017.Retrieved22 December2017.
- ^"Silent Night" revisitedArchived27 August 2016 at theWayback Machineby Norbert Müllemann,G. Henle Verlag,24 December 2012
- ^Underwood, Byron Edward, "Bishop John Freeman Young, Translator of 'Stille Nacht' ",The Hymn,v. 8, no. 4, October 1957, pp. 123–132.
- ^Meredith Ellis Little (2001).SicilianaArchived19 April 2016 at theWayback Machine.Grove Music Online.ISBN978-1561592630.
- ^Gerlinde Haid(1994).Siciliano als Typus weihnachtlicher Volksmusik.175 Jahre "Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!" (in German), pp. 135–146. Salzburg.
- ^"Silent night! Holy night!",translated in 1998 by Bettina Klein, Silent Night Museum
- ^Ronald M. Clancy,William E. Studwell.Best-Loved Christmas Carols.Christmas Classics Ltd, 2000.[page needed]
- ^Evangelisches Gesangbuch,hymnno. 46Archived14 December 2017 at theWayback Machine;Gotteslob,hymnno. 249Archived14 December 2017 at theWayback Machine(was 145)
- ^Young, John Freeman(1887).Great hymns of the church.Princeton Theological Seminary Library. New York: James Pott & Co.
- ^Christmas Carols, Hymns, Etc.London: F. Pitman. 1881. p. 69.
- ^Ruffer, Tim (2013).Ancient and Modern Words Edition.London: Canterbury Press. #84 Silent night! Holy night!.ISBN978-1-84825-243-1.
- ^Huntington, William R., ed. (1878).The Church Porch: A Service Book and Hymnal for Sunday Schools.New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. #42 Holy Night.
- ^Guerrieri, Matthew (20 December 2014)."With 'Stille Nacht', Schnittke couched protest in tradition".The Boston Globe.Archivedfrom the original on 25 December 2017.Retrieved24 December2017.
- ^Ross, Alex(28 September 1992)."Connoisseur of Chaos: Schnittke".The New Republic.Archived fromthe originalon 29 June 2017.Retrieved24 December2017– via The Rest Is Noise.
- ^"Silent Night, Holy Night (TV Movie 1976)".IMDb. 27 December 2008.Archivedfrom the original on 10 February 2017.Retrieved17 February2017.
- ^"Silent Mouse (1988)".Turner Classic Movies.Archivedfrom the original on 8 December 2015.Retrieved29 November2015.
- ^"Buster and Chauncey's Silent Night".Turner Classic Movies.Archivedfrom the original on 23 November 2016.Retrieved23 November2016.
- ^"Silent Night| Movieguide | Movie Reviews for Christians ".Movieguide. 21 October 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 10 September 2017.Retrieved17 February2017.
- ^First Silent Night, TheArchived25 December 2014 at theWayback Machine,production details
- ^"Stille-Nacht-Film feierte im Salzburger 'Das Kino' Premiere".Salzburger Nachrichten(in German). 15 December 2018.Retrieved20 December2020.
- ^"Stille Nacht – eine Friedensbotschaft geht um die Welt".Österreich Werbung(in German).Retrieved20 December2020.
- ^Oganesyan, Natalie (18 November 2020)."The Story of 'Silent Night', as Told and Sung by Kelly Clarkson, Josh Groban, Joss Stone and More, Set for CW Special".Variety.Retrieved27 November2020.
- ^Silent Night – A Song for the World(2018)atIMDb
- ^"Percy Sledge – Silent Night".Dutchcharts.nl(in Dutch).Retrieved22 August2021.
Piekpositie: 10
- ^"Tom Tomson – Silent Night".Ultratop.be(in Dutch).Retrieved22 August2021.
Piekpositie: 21
- ^"Tom Tomson – Silent Night".Ultratop.be(in French).Retrieved22 August2021.
Top: 10
- ^"The Cats – Silent Night".Dutchcharts.nl(in Dutch).Retrieved22 August2021.
Piekpositie: 21
- ^"Sinéad O'Connor – Silent Night".Dutchcharts.nl(in Dutch).Retrieved22 August2021.
Piekpositie: 71
- ^"Enya – Oíche Chiúin (Silent Night)".australian-charts.Retrieved14 October2023.
- ^"Josh Groban – Noche de Paz (Silent Night)".Norwegiancharts.Retrieved22 August2021.
Peak: 5
- ^"Chart History: Josh Groban – Adult Contemporary".Billboard.Retrieved22 August2021.
Silent Night – Peaked at #19
- ^"Glasvegas – Silent Night (Noapte de Vis)".Swedishcharts.Retrieved22 August2021.
Peak: 42
- ^"Chart History: Mariah Carey – Digital Song Sales".Billboard.Retrieved22 August2021.
Silent Night – Peaked at #67
- ^"Elvis Presley – Silent Night (Chanson)".Lescharts(in French).Retrieved22 August2021.
Top: 120
- ^"Nat" King "Cole – Silent Night (Chanson)".Lescharts(in French).Retrieved22 August2021.
Top: 125
- ^"Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 52, 2017".Sverigetopplistan.Retrieved27 December2021.
External links[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png)
Media related toSilent Nightat Wikimedia Commons
- "Song of peace – 'Silent Night' as a message of peace"
- Translation of all six verses of the German original
- Free arrangements forpianoandvoicefrom Cantorion.org
- Silent Night Chapel, origin of song
- Animated score of Schnittke's versiononYouTube
- "Sinead O'Connor - Silent Night (Official Music Video)"onYouTube
- New instrumental arrangement 2021"Adrien Melano - Christmas Silent Night (ADRM Productions)"onYouTube