Poetry in Context: “Silent Night”

Posted on by M.E. Bond Posted in PoetryTagged , , ,

December 24, 2018 marks the 200th anniversary of the beloved Christmas carol “Silent Night,” which began as the German song “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht” in a small town in Austria.

Lyrics

The lyrics of “Stille Nacht” were written by a young priest named Joseph Mohr (1792-1848) in Mariapfarr, Austria in 1816. What inspired the poem is unknown. The following year he was transferred to St. Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria.

Music

On December 24, 1818, Mohr walked to the home of teacher and organist Franz Gruber and asked him to compose music for voice and guitar so the carol could be performed at midnight mass. Tradition has it that the church organ was broken, but this has never been verified. Regardless, “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht” was performed for the first time that night.

The story of the carol’s composition is told in the lovely picture book Silent Night: The Song and Its Story, written by Margaret Hodges and illustrated in Tim Ladwig. (N.B. It does promote the legend that the lyrics and music were both composed in haste because the church organ was broken.)

Spread of “Stille Nacht”

In subsequent years Karl Mauracher travelled to Oberndorf to work on the St. Nicholas church organ several times. At some point he took the carol home to the Ziller Valley with him. Two families of folk singers, the Rainers and the Strassers, then added the song to their repertoire. With slightly altered melody, “Stille Nacht” began to spread across Europe. It became the favourite carol of King Frederick William IV of Prussia. In 1839 it was performed in America for the first time.

For many years the melody was assumed to be written by Mozart, Beethoven, or Haydn. Finally in 1995 an arrangement handwritten by Joseph Mohr circa 1820 was authenticated, bearing the words “Melodie von Fr. Xav. Gruber.”

manuscript in Joseph Mohr’s hand

Translation into English

In 1859 three of the original six verses of “Stille Nacht” were translated into English by an Episcopal priest named John Freeman Young, working at the time in New York City. These become the famous carol “Silent Night.” (Here you can find a literal translation of all six stanzas.)

Legacy

During World War I “Silent Night” was sung by soldiers in the trenches during impromptu ceasefires known as the Christmas truce of 1914. Christmas in the Trenches, written by John McCutcheon and illustrated by Henri Sorensen, is a beautiful picture book for sharing this story with children. (Find my review here.)

“Silent Night” was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011.

Today “Silent Night” has been translated into at least 143 languages.

Sources

4 thoughts on “Poetry in Context: “Silent Night””

  1. Reply
    rolandclarke says:

    This is a wonderful read, especially on Christmas Eve as “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht” was sung by my family on that eve, many decades ago. We had Austrian servants and my mother grew up in France so celebrated in a more continental European way, even though we were Anglo-British. ‘Silent Night’ in English or German has always been my favourite carol. Thanks you.

    1. M.E. Bond
      Reply
      M.E. Bond says:

      I think you are right! I must have just searched for a picture of Austria when I was choosing a stock image. Thanks for pointing this out.

Leave a Reply