December 24, 2018 - Christmas Eve

Each week, you may find information here about the music in the traditional worship services at First United Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas.  Some of this information is original; much of it is "borrowed" from other sources such as Wikipedia, GBOD, and hymnary.org.  It is my hope that this information will enhance your understanding and enrich your worship experience.   

About the Organ Music:

Hark!, the Herald Angels Sing - David Cherwein

The carol we now know as "Hark! the herald angels sing" did not start life as such, and required at least four people to bring it to its current form. Wesley's original, written as a Christmas Day hymn and first published in 1739, is made up of ten four-line verses, rather than the longer eight-line verses with refrain which we have now.  It is interesting to note that in the original version of Wesley's, the heavens ring with the phrase "Glory to the King of kings," echoing Luke's "Glory to God in the highest heaven."  George Whitfield, who had been a student with Wesley, changed this to "Glory to the newborn King" in 1753. His fairly revolutionary Calvinist position was not compatible with Wesley's gentler reforming approach, which eventually bore fruit in the Methodist movement that he and his brother John inspired, Whitfield maintained the four-line verses of Wesley's original, but changed the angels' emphasis: "Glory to the newborn King" means something slightly but significantly different from "Glory to the King of kings." In the Gospel account, the angels praise God, whereas in "Hark! the herald angels sing," they are inaccurately described as praising Jesus.  Furthermore, Luke does not say that the angels "sing," and so it may well be that this reinterpretation by Whitfield has emphasized the popular but unscriptural picture of angels singing the Gloria. ("While shepherds watched" also implies that they sang.)  Whitfield also cut the final verses, which are now largely forgotten:

Come, desire of nations, come,  Fix in us thy humble home;
Rise, the woman's conquering seed,  Bruise in us the serpent's head.

Now display thy saving power,  Ruin'd nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join Thine to ours, and ours to thine.

Adam's likeness, Lord, efface,  Stamp thy image in its place.
Second Adam from above,  Reinstate us in thy love.

Let us thee, though lost, regain,  Thee, the life, the inner man:
O, to all thyself impart,  Form'd in each believing heart.

There is some real theological insight in these neglected verses. First of all we notice the Advent antiphon "Come, desire of nations, come," followed by a reference to the Fall, with the serpent bruising the heel of humanity and Adam bruising its head (Genesis 3:15). Wesley cleverly alters the meaning, asking that the serpent in us (sin) should be bruised (defeated) by Christ, the second Adam, who reinstates us as beloved sons and daughters of God. In the restoration of sinful humanity to a state of grace through the incarnation of Christ, the joining of divine and human nature is also achieved. Consequently, that which was lost (salvation) is gained and a new life is granted to all believers.

The familiar tune, MENDELSSOHN, is an adaptation of a melody from Felix Mendelssohn’s Festgesang for male chorus and orchestra.

Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King; 

Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.”

Joyful, all you nations, rise, Join the triumph of the skies;

With angelic hosts proclaim, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord,

Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail, incarnate Deity!

Pleased as man with us to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel!

Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail, the Son of righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings, Ris’n with healing in His wings.

Mild He lays His glory by, Born that man no more may die,

Born to raise each child of earth, Born to give us second birth.

Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

David M. Cherwien (b. 1957) is currently serving as Director of Music at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN, and in 2002 was appointed Music Director for the National Lutheran Choir, also based in the Twin Cities. He completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance, and the Master of Arts degree in Theory and Composition, both from the University of Minnesota. His undergraduate work was in organ performance and music education at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, where he was honored as distinguished alumni in the fall of 2000.  Following his undergraduate work he studied for two years at the Berlin Church Music School in Berlin, Germany. He is composer of the popular series for organ, Interpretations, based on hymn tunes (Lorenz) and has published other liturgical music for choir and organ.  He is author of the book Let the People Sing, a practical guide for those who lead the congregation in song. Dr. Cherwien is a founding member of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and is also active in the American Guild of Organists and Choristers Guild.

About the Piano Music:

Still, Still, Still - Linda McKechnie

"Still, still, still" is an Austrian Christmas carol and lullaby. In German its first line is "Still, still, still, weil's Kindlein schlafen will!" ("Hush, hush, hush, for the little child wants to sleep!")  The melody is a folk tune (authorship unknown) from the State of Salzburg. The tune appeared for the first time in 1865 in a folksong collection of Maria Vinzenz Süß (1802–1868), founder of the Salzburg Museum. The words, which run to six verses in German, describe the peace of the infant Jesus and his mother as the baby is sung to sleep. They have changed slightly over the years but the modern Standard German version remains attributed to Georg Götsch (1895–1956).

Still, still, still,
One can hear the falling snow.
For all is hushed,
The world is sleeping,
Holy Star its vigil keeping.
Still, still, still,
One can hear the falling snow.

Sleep, sleep, sleep,
'Tis the eve of our Saviour's birth.
The night is peaceful all around you,
Close your eyes,
Let sleep surround you.
Sleep, sleep, sleep,
'Tis the eve of our Saviour's birth.

Dream, dream, dream,
Of the joyous day to come.
While guardian angels without number,
Watch you as you sweetly slumber.
Dream, dream, dream,
Of the joyous day to come

The music of pianist, arranger, and recording artist, Linda McKechnie has inspired people around the world.  With her brother, composer and arranger, Don Marsh, she has produced the popular Hymnworks and Symphony of Praise series. Linda has served Presbyterian churches in New York, Oklahoma, and Texas as organist, and director of adult and children singing and ringing choirs.  Linda is recognized for her great contribution to the art of handbell ringing as a publisher of over 50 handbell titles and a past president of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers.

About the Choral Music:

In the Bleak Midwinter - Albin Whitworth

"In the Bleak Midwinter" is a Christmas carol based on a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti.  This exquisitely melancholy and evocative carol imagines the Nativity in a snowy Northern landscape, yet few carols can express the quiet heart of Christmas more movingly.  

Christina Georgiana Rossetti (1830-1894) was the author of three collections of mostly religious poetry and four devotional books.  Her deep faith is thought to be partially the result of the solace that she found in writing as a result of her poor health from age sixteen.  Her most famous hymns are the Christmas texts, "Love Came Down at Christmas" composed in 1885 and "In the Bleak Midwinter," the latter first published as the poem "A Christmas Carol" in Scribner’s Monthly in January 1872. It first appeared as a hymn in The English Hymnal (1906), where it was paired to a tune by the famous English composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934). Now, over 100 years later, we sing this hymn in virtually the same form as it appeared in 1906. In the first memorable stanza, Rossetti creates a dreary and desolate image of the world into which the infant Jesus appeared by drawing on the experience of a British winter. She is not suggesting that it literally snowed in Bethlehem, but is drawing on a long-established literary idea of associating snow with Christ's birth. The famous seventeenth-century poet, John Milton, used the winter imagery in his poem, "On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity," as a pure covering to hide the sin of the world.  Rossetti exploits this metaphor in the opposite way in her opening stanza. The Incarnate One, the Light of the World, brought warmth into the most forlorn and dreary of sinful situations.

Albin Crawford Whitworth (b. 1938) attended Asbury College and the University Louisville.  He was the choral director for Butler High School, Louisville, and assistant professor of music at Asbury College.  He is organist at First United Methodist Church, Lexington, Kentucky.  He teaches church music and serves as seminary organist at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky.

In the bleak mid-winter Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow,  Snow on snow,

In the bleak mid-winter Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, Nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away When He comes to reign:

In the bleak mid-winter  A stable-place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty,  Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim Worship night and day,

A breastful of milk And a mangerful of hay;

Enough for Him, whom angels Fall down before,

The ox and ass and camel Which adore.

Angels and archangels May have gathered there,

Cherubim and seraphim Thronged the air,

But only His mother In her maiden bliss,

Worshipped the Beloved With a kiss.

What can I give Him, Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb,

If I were a wise man I would do my part,

Yet what I can I give Him, Give my heart.

About the Vocal Solo Music:

Gesu Bambino - Pietro Yon

Michelle Corazao, soprano

Gesù bambino is an Italian Christmas carol composed by Pietro Yon in 1917. The melody was used by Frederick H. Martens in his English language carol "When Blossoms Flowered 'mid the Snows". The melody and lyrics of the chorus are derived from "Adeste Fideles" (O Come All Ye Faithful).  

Pietro Alessandro Yon (1886-1943) was an Italian-born organist and composer who made his career in the United States.  Yon studied at the conservatories of both Milan and Turin, also attending the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome.  He served for a time as an organist at the Vatican and at the Royal Church in Rome.  In the spring of 1907, Father John B. Young, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church in Manhattan, was in Rome on Vatican business and additionally to seek out a replacement for his organist Gaston Dethier, who was leaving to pursue a concert career. Upon hearing Yon play, Father Young was sufficiently impressed to offer him a three-year contract. Thus Yon at age 21 came to the United States, where from 1907 until 1926 he was the organist of St. Francis Xavier Church. In 1926, he became the organist of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, where he served until his death.  In the spring of 1938, both Pietro and his brother Constantino Yon were appointed as Knights of St. Sylvester by Cardinal Patrick Hayes.

When blossoms flowered 'mid the snows Upon a winter night,

Was born the Child, the Christmas Rose, The King of Love and Light.

The angels sang, the shepherds sang, The grateful earth rejoiced;

And at His blessed birth the stars Their exultation voiced.

Again the heart with rapture glows To greet the holy night,

That gave the world its Christmas Rose, Its King of Love and Light.

Let ev'ry voice acclaim His name, The grateful chorus swell.

From paradise to earth He came That we with Him might dwell.

O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

O Holy Night - Adolphe Adam

Paul Burnett, baritone

The words and lyrics of the old carol ‘O Holy Night’ were written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847. Cappeau was a wine-seller by trade but was asked by the parish priest to write a poem for Christmas. He obliged and wrote the beautiful words of the hymn. He then realised that it should have music to accompany the words and he approached his friend Adolphe Charles Adams(1803-1856). He agreed and the music for the poem was therefore composed by Adolphe. Adolphe had attended the Paris conservatoire and forged a brilliant career as a composer. It was translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight (1812-1893).

The strange and fascinating story of "O Holy Night" began in France, yet eventually made its way around the world. This seemingly simple song, inspired by a request from a clergyman, would not only become one of the most beloved anthems of all time, it would mark a technological revolution that would forever change the way people were introduced to music.

In 1847, Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure (1808-1877) was the commissionaire of wines in a small French town. Known more for his poetry than his church attendance, it probably shocked Placide when his parish priest asked the commissionaire to pen a poem for Christmas mass. Nevertheless, the poet was honored to share his talents with the church.  In a dusty coach traveling down a bumpy road to France's capital city, Placide Cappeau considered the priest's request. Using the gospel of Luke as his guide, Cappeau imagined witnessing the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Thoughts of being present on the blessed night inspired him. By the time he arrived in Paris, "Cantique de Noel" had been completed.

Moved by his own work, Cappeau decided that his "Cantique de Noel" was not just a poem, but a song in need of a master musician's hand. Not musically inclined himself, the poet turned to one of his friends, Adolphe Charles Adams (1803-1856), for help. The son of a well-known classical musician, Adolphe had studied in the Paris conservatoire. His talent and fame brought requests to write works for orchestras and ballets all over the world. Yet the lyrics that his friend Cappeau gave him must have challenged the composer in a fashion unlike anything he received from London, Berlin, or St. Petersburg. 

As a man of Jewish ancestry, for Adolphe the words of "Cantique de Noel" represented a day he didn't celebrate and a man he did not view as the son of God. Nevertheless, Adams quickly went to work, attempting to marry an original score to Cappeau's beautiful words. Adams' finished work pleased both poet and priest. The song was performed just three weeks later at a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. 

Initially, "Cantique de Noel" was wholeheartedly accepted by the church in France and the song quickly found its way into various Catholic Christmas services. But when Placide Cappeau walked away from the church and became a part of the socialist movement, and church leaders discovered that Adolphe Adams was a Jew, the song--which had quickly grown to be one of the most beloved Christmas songs in France--was suddenly and uniformly denounced by the church. The heads of the French Catholic church of the time deemed "Cantique de Noel" as unfit for church services because of its "total absence of the spirit of religion." Yet even as the church tried to bury the Christmas song, the French people continued to sing it, and a decade later a reclusive American writer brought it to a whole new audience halfway around the world.

Not only did this American writer--John Sullivan Dwight (1812-1893)—feel that this wonderful Christmas songs needed to be introduced to America, he saw something else in the song that moved him beyond the story of the birth of Christ. An ardent abolitionist, Dwight strongly identified with the lines of the third verse: "Truly he taught us to love one another; his law is love and his gospel is peace. Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother; and in his name all oppression shall cease." The text supported Dwight's own view of slavery in the South.  Published in his magazine, Dwight's English translation of "O Holy Night" quickly found found favor in America, especially in the North during the Civil War.

Back in France, even though the song had been banned from the church for almost two decades, many commoners still sang "Cantique de Noel" at home. Legend has it that on Christmas Eve 1871, in the midst of fierce fighting between the armies of Germany and France, during the Franco-Prussian War, a French soldier suddenly jumped out of his muddy trench. Both sides stared at the seemingly crazed man. Boldly standing with no weapon in his hand or at his side, he lifted his eyes to the heavens and sang, "Minuit, Chretiens, c'est l'heure solennelle ou L'Homme Dieu descendit jusqu'a nous," the beginning of "Cantique de Noel. “  After completing all three verses, a German infantryman climbed out his hiding place and answered with, "Vom Himmel noch, da komm' ich her. Ich bring' euch gute neue Mar, Der guten Mar bring' ich so viel, Davon ich sing'n und sagen will," the beginning of Martin Luther's robust "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come.”  The story goes that the fighting stopped for the next twenty-four hours while the men on both sides observed a temporary peace in honor of Christmas day. Perhaps this story had a part in the French church once again embracing "Cantique de Noel" in holiday services.

Adams had been dead for many years and Cappeau and Dwight were old men when on Christmas Eve 1906, Reginald Fessenden--a 33-year-old university professor and former chief chemist for Thomas Edison--did something long thought impossible. Using a new type of generator, Fessenden spoke into a microphone and, for the first time in history, a man's voice was broadcast over the airwaves: "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed," he began in a clear, strong voice, hoping he was reaching across the distances he supposed he would.  Shocked radio operators on ships and astonished wireless owners at newspapers sat slack-jawed as their normal, coded impulses, heard over tiny speakers, were interrupted by a professor reading from the gospel of Luke. To the few who caught this broadcast, it must have seemed like a miracle--hearing a voice somehow transmitted to those far away. Some might have believed they were hearing the voice of an angel.  Fessenden was probably unaware of the sensation he was causing on ships and in offices; he couldn't have known that men and women were rushing to their wireless units to catch this Christmas Eve miracle. After finishing his recitation of the birth of Christ, Fessenden picked up his violin and played "O Holy Night," the first song ever sent through the air via radio waves. When the carol ended, so did the broadcast--but not before music had found a new medium that would take it around the world.

Since that first rendition at a small Christmas mass in 1847, "O Holy Night" has been sung millions of times in churches in every corner of the world. And since the moment a handful of people first heard it played over the radio, the carol has gone on to become one of the entertainment industry's most recorded and played spiritual songs. This incredible work--requested by a forgotten parish priest, written by a poet who would later split from the church, given soaring music by a Jewish composer, and brought to Americans to serve as much as a tool to spotlight the sinful nature of slavery as tell the story of the birth of a Savior--has become one of the most beautiful, inspired pieces of music ever created.

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining.

It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining

Till he appear’d and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices.

Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born,

Oh night divine, Oh night divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming

Here come the wise men from Orient land

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger

In all our trials born to be our friend

He knows our need, to our weakness no stranger;

Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King! Before Hm bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another

His law is love and His gospel is peace

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother

And in His name all oppression shall cease

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices.

Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born,

Oh night divine, Oh night divine

About the Hymns:

O Come, All Ye Faithful

"O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as Adeste Fideles) is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692) and King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), with the earliest manuscript of the hymn bearing his name, located in the library of the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa.  A manuscript by Wade, dating to 1751, is held by Stonyhurst College in Lancashire.  The original four verses of the hymn were extended to a total of eight, and these have been translated into many languages. The English translation of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" by the English Catholic priest Frederick Oakeley, written in 1841, is widespread in most English-speaking countries.  The tune ‘Adeste Fideles’ is usually attributed to Samuel Webbe, and dated to 1782. But it is has also been ascribed to Wade himself or to the French composer Charles Favart.  A mystery attaches to its Victorian reputation as ‘the Portuguese hymn’. Some say that this came about because it was always sung at Christmas at the Portuguese Embassy, while others think that it was the work of King Joseph or King John of Portugal, or even the opera composer Marcas Portugal, also known as Portogallo.

Joy to the World

“Joy to the world” is perhaps an unlikely popular Christmas hymn. First of all, it is based on a psalm, and, second, it celebrates Christ’s second coming much more than the first. However, as of the late 20th century, "Joy to the World" was the most-published Christmas hymn in North America.  The words of the hymn are by English writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98, 96:11-12 and Genesis 3:17-18. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship. The paraphrase is Watts' Christological interpretation. Consequently, he does not emphasize with equal weight the various themes of Psalm 98. In stanzas 1 and 2 Watts writes of heaven and earth rejoicing at the coming of the King. An interlude that depends more on Watts' interpretation than the psalm text, stanza 3 speaks of Christ's blessings extending victoriously over the realm of sin. The cheerful repetition of the non-psalm phrase "far as the curse is found" has caused this stanza to be omitted from some hymnals. But the line makes joyful sense when understood from the New Testament eyes through which Watts interprets the psalm. Stanza 4 celebrates Christ's rule over the nations." The nations are called to celebrate because God's faithfulness to the house of Israel has brought salvation to the world.

The version of this carol usually heard today is from the edition by Lowell Mason for The National Psalmist (Boston, 1848), his fourth revision of the tune he named ANTIOCH and attributed as "arranged from Handel". This tune has the first four notes in common with the chorus Lift up your heads from Messiah (premiered 1742), and the third line recalls the arioso Comfort ye from the same oratorio, but this resemblance is dismissed as 'chance resemblance' by Handel scholars today. A 1986 article by John Wilson showed ANTIOCH's close resemblance to a predecessor titled COMFORT and associated with Wesley's hymn "O Joyful Sound", with one publication firmly dated 1833, three years earlier than Mason's first version.

Silent Night

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the writing of “Silent Night”.  In recognition, this is an extended history of this great hymn.  As the fame of this carol grew, its story was slowly forgotten. Myths and fanciful tales gathered around its origins. Here Bill Egan tells the true history of this beautiful piece of popular music.

Christmas Eve 1818. In 1818 the carol "Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht" was heard for the first time in a village church in Oberndorf, Austria. The congregation at that Midnight Mass in St. Nicholas Church listened as the voices of the assistant pastor, Father Joseph Mohr, and the choir director, Franz Xaver Gruber, rang through the church to the accompaniment of Father Mohr's guitar. On each of the six verses, the choir repeated the last two lines in four-part harmony. On that Christmas Eve, a song was born that would wing its way into the hearts of people throughout the world. Now translated into hundreds of languages, it is sung by untold millions every December from small chapels in the Andes to great cathedrals in Antwerp and Rome.

Though meant for a performance in a church Silent Night was composed for guitar. That is rather unusual for those days. Joseph Mohr's guitar still can be seen at Hallein's Franz Gruber Museum.

Some fanciful tales. Today books, films and Internet sites are filled with fanciful tales purporting to tell the history of "Silent Night." Some tell of mice eating the bellows of the organ creating the necessity for a hymn to be accompanied by a guitar. Others claim that Joseph Mohr was forced to write the words to a new carol in haste since the organ would not play. A film, created for Austrian television places Oberndorf in the Alps and includes evil railroad barons and a double-dealing priest, while a recent book by a German author places a zither in the hands of Franz Gruber and connects Joseph Mohr with a tragic fire engulfing the city of Salzburg. You can read claims that "Silent Night" was sung on Christmas Eve in 1818 and then forgotten by its creators. Of course, the latter are easily discounted by manuscript arrangements of the carol by both Mohr and Gruber which were produced at various times between 1820 and 1855. In this age of tabloid journalism, it's not surprising that some feel it necessary to invent frivolous anecdotes and create fables for a story that is quite beautiful in its simplicity.

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A young priest in Mariapfarr. The German words for the original six stanzas of the carol we know as "Silent Night" were written by Joseph Mohr in 1816, when he was a young priest assigned to a pilgrimage church in Mariapfarr, Austria. His grandfather lived nearby, and it is easy to imagine that he could have come up with the words while walking through the countryside on a visit to his elderly relative. The fact is, we have no idea if any particular event inspired Joseph Mohr to pen his poetic version of the birth of the Christ child. The world is fortunate, however, that he didn't leave it behind when he was transferred to Oberndorf the following year (1817).

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Franz Gruber. On December 24, 1818 Joseph Mohr journeyed to the home of musician-schoolteacher Franz Gruber who lived in an apartment over the schoolhouse in nearby Arnsdorf. He showed his friend the poem and asked him to add a melody and guitar accompaniment so that it could be sung at Midnight Mass. His reason for wanting the new carol is unknown. Some speculate that the organ would not work; others feel that the assistant pastor, who dearly loved guitar music, merely wanted a new carol for Christmas.

English translation of complete lyrics 

Silent night! Holy night! All's asleep, one sole light,

Just the faithful and holy pair, Lovely boy-child with curly hair,

Sleep in heavenly peace! Sleep in heavenly peace!

Silent night! Holy night! God's Son laughs, o how bright.

Love from your holy lips shines clear, As the dawn of salvation draws near,

Jesus, Lord, with your birth! Jesus, Lord, with your birth!

Silent night! Holy night! Brought the world peace tonight,

From the heavens' golden height Shows the grace of His holy might

Jesus, as man on this earth! Jesus, as man on this earth!

Silent night! holy night! Where today all the might

Of His fatherly love us graced And then Jesus, as brother embraced.

All the peoples on earth! All the peoples on earth!

Silent night! Holy night! Long we hoped that He might,

As our Lord, free us of wrath, Since times of our fathers He hath

Promised to spare all mankind! Promised to spare all mankind!

Silent night! Holy night! Sheperds first see the sight.

Told by angelic Alleluja, Sounding everywhere, both near and far:

"Christ the Savior is here!” "Christ the Savior is here!"

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A Tyrolean folk song. Later that evening, as the two men, backed by the choir, stood in front of the main altar in St. Nicholas Church and sang "Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!" for the first time, they could hardly imagine the impact their composition would have on the world. Karl Mauracher, a master organ builder and repairman from the Ziller Valley, traveled to Oberndorf to work on the organ, several times in subsequent years. While doing his work in St. Nicholas, he obtained a copy of the composition and took it home with him. Thus, the simple carol, began its journey around the world as a "Tyrolean Folk Song."

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Changing notes. Two traveling families of folk singers from the Ziller Valley, similar to the Trapp Family Singers of "The Sound of Music" fame, incorporated the song into their repertoire. According to the Leipziger Tageblatt, the Strassers sang the song in a concert in Leipzig in December 1832. It was during this period, several musical notes were changed, and the carol evolved into the melody we know today. On another occasion, according to an historical plaque, the Rainer Family sang the Christmas carol before an audience which included Emperor Franz I and Tsar Alexander I. In the year 1839, the Rainers performed "Stille Nacht" for the first time in America, at the Alexander Hamilton Monument outside Trinity Church in New York City.

The Royal Cathedral Choir. Joseph Bletzacher, the Court Opera singer from Hannover, reported that by the 1840s, the carol was already well known in Lower Saxony. "In Berlin," he says, "the Royal Cathedral Choir popularized it especially. It became in fact the favorite Christmas carol of the artistically appreciative King Frederick William IV of Prussia, who used to have the Cathedral Choir sing it for him during the Christmas season each year.”

Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven or ... By the time the song had become famous throughout Europe, its writer Joseph Mohr had died and its composer was unknown. Although Franz Gruber wrote to music authorities in Berlin stating that he was the composer, the melody had been assumed to be the work of Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven at various times and these thoughts persisted even into the twentieth century. The controversy was put to rest in 1994 when a long-lost arrangement of "Stille Nacht" in the hand of Joseph Mohr was authenticated. In the upper right hand corner of the arrangement, Mohr wrote, "Melodie von Fr. Xav. Gruber."

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A number of arrangements. During his lifetime, Franz Xaver Gruber produced a number of orchestral arrangements of his composition. The original guitar arrangement is missing, but five other Gruber manuscripts of the carol exist. The manuscript by Joseph Mohr (ca. 1820) is for guitar accompaniment and is probably the closest to the arrangement and melody sung at Midnight Mass in 1818. Later in his life, the Gruber family moved to Hallein, now the site of the Franz Xaver Gruber Museum. It contains several furnished rooms in his former home along with outstanding exhibits dealing with the history of "Silent Night," including Joseph Mohr's guitar. Gruber's grave is outside the home and is decorated with a Christmas tree in December.

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A reliable friend of mankind. Father Joseph Mohr's final resting place is a tiny Alpine ski resort, Wagrain. He was born into poverty in Salzburg in 1792 and died penniless in Wagrain in 1848, where he had been assigned as pastor of the church. He had donated all his earnings to be used for eldercare and the education of the children in the area. His memorial from the townspeople is the Joseph Mohr School located a dozen yards from his grave. The overseer of St. Johann's, in a report to the bishop, described Mohr as "a reliable friend of mankind, toward the poor, a gentle, helping father."

The Song Heard 'Round The World. In 1998 it was discovered that Joseph Mohr was not born in the building once thought to be his birthplace at 9 Steingasse in Salzburg. Research into the census records indicates that Mohr and his mother resided at 31 Steingasse. At the same time the Governor of Salzburg, Franz Schausberger, announced a new initiative to promote the cultural sites related to the carol and its composers. It seems that Austria has finally realized that their national treasure has a very special significance outside its birth nation and has become "The Song Heard 'Round The World." Perhaps this is part of the miracle of "Silent Night." The words flowed from the imagination of a modest curate. The music was composed by a musician who was not known outside his village. There was no celebrity to sing at its world premiere. Yet its powerful message of heavenly peace has crossed all borders and language barriers, conquering the hearts of people everywhere.