“Silent night...holy night...
All is calm...all is bright...”
There
are lots of stories about the history of the Christmas song “Silent
Night.” Apparently, some of them are not true—and in a situation
like that, it can be hard to sort out fact and fiction. But we do
know that this song was first performed on Christmas Eve in 1818.
And
it was performed in German!
I
always find it interesting when a poem with rhymes turns out to be
merely the translation of a poem written—with rhymes!—in another
language. Clearly, just because “night” and “bright” (for
example) rhyme in English, it doesn't follow that the German words
for these things rhyme. Indeed, “nacht”
and “hell”
are the German words for “night” and “bright.” Not only do
they not rhyme, “hell”
doesn't appear anywhere in the German (original) lyrics of “Silent
Night.”
The
translator of a song or rhyming poem must search for synonyms or
other words that rhyme and pretty much paint the same sort of
picture. Here is the song in German, followed by a literal
translation in English:
Stille
Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlaf
in himmlischer Ruh!
Silent
night, holy night,
All is sleeping, alone watches
Only the close, most holy couple.
Blessed boy in curly hair,
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Sleep in heavenly peace!
All is sleeping, alone watches
Only the close, most holy couple.
Blessed boy in curly hair,
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Sleep in heavenly peace!
And
here is the familiar English version many of us know and love:
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!
The
history of the carol...On December 23, 1818, a young priest named Father Mohr went to schoolmaster Franz Gruber and asked him to compose a melody that could be played on a guitar, to go along with a poem he had written a few years before. It may be that the church's organ was broken and Father Mohr needed a Christmas hymn composed for guitar—or it may be that he just wanted a new song and liked guitar accompaniment. Whatever the motivation for the request, Father Mohr and Herr Gruber performed the new song together on Christmas Eve, and the simple song grew in popularity until it became a widespread Christmas carol.
So widespread that it has been translated into about 140 languages! It would be interesting to check out the variations, wouldn't it?
For
more about Christmas Eve, check out this earlier post.
Also
on this date:
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