I imagine we'll be singing Silent Night this evening at church because that's what we do on Christmas Eve, somewhere. I served six pastoral charges in three provinces and we always sang Silent Night, often multiple times in various services. The first was in outport Newfoundland where I began the Christmas Eve service because until I arrived it was considered "too Catlick." Singing Silent Night to candlelight with folk who'd never done so before was magical.
The goofiest experience was in Halifax, in the beautiful sanctuary of St. Andrew's. University-aged son Isaac and a good friend who was studying guitar at Dalhousie accompanied this classic carol, which was written for guitar. One of the choir members who was a self-appointed Guardian of Musical Taste processed into the sanctuary, saw the guitars, then flounced out in tears. Ah yes...
This is the 200th anniversary of the writing of Silent Night, a collaboration between Franz Gruber and Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. The story goes that it was an emergency measure when the organ was damaged, hence the guitar. And the original version has six verses. There have been plenty of celebratory events in Austria leading up to this Christmas.
This simple carol was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds important! We're told that German and Allied troops at the Front established an impromptu truce on Christmas Eve in 1914 and sang the carol together.
Silent Night was translated into English in the 1840's by an American clergyman and some of the lyrics were rather ambiguous -- "round yon virgin?" There was a recent translation which was intended to be truer to the original. Take a look:
| Silent Night! Holy Night! All is calm, all is bright Round yon godly tender pair Holy infant with curly hair Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace. 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. Silent Night! Holy Night! Brought the world gracious light Down from heaven's golden height Comes to us the glorious sight: Jesus, as one of mankind Jesus, as one of mankind. | Silent Night! Holy Night! By his love, by his might God our Father us has graced As a brother gently embraced Jesus, all nations on earth Jesus, all nations on earth. Silent Night! Holy Night! Long ago, minding our plight God the world from misery freed In the dark age of our fathers decreed: All the world is redeemed All the world is redeemed. Silent Night! Holy Night! Shepherds first saw the sight Of angels singing alleluia Calling clearly near and far: Christ, the saviour is born Christ the Saviour is born. Translated by Bettina Klein © 1998 Silent Night Museum A-5024 Salzburg, Steingasse 9 |
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