Silent NightThis carol was originally entitled “Stille Nacht” and was written in German by an Austrian priest by the name of Father Josef Mohr. The music was composed by an Austrian head teacher named Franz Xaver Gruber. There are several different versions of how the carol came to be written. One is that the church organ wasn't working, so a song had to be composed for accompaniment by the guitar. However, the first mention of the broken church organ was in an American book published in 1909 (Renate Ebeling-Winkler). Many believe that the real tale is simply that Mohr wanted a song to play on the guitar. There is a “Silent Night Society” in Austria, dedicated to the history and preservation of the carol.
O Little Town of Bethlehem
This carol originally started out as a poem, written by an Episcopal clergyman in 1867, three years after he visited Bethlehem. Brooks' organist, Lewis Redner, added the music some time later. He called the music “St. Louis” which is the music usually associated with the carol in the United States. In England, another melody is used - “Forest Green” by Vaughan Williams is the most popular, although there are others.
O Come All Ye Faithful
This carol is equally well-known, even preferred by many, in Latin as “Adeste Fideles”. It is believed to have been written by a hymn writer called Francis John Wade in France around 1751. It was translated into English by Frederick Oakeley and William Thomas Brooke and published in English in 1852. There is some discrepancy over who wrote the tune, with John Redding or St. Bonaventure often being credited. However, it is also thought by some to have appeared in “An Essay on the Church Plain Chant” by Samuel Webbe in 1782. The original four verses have now been extended to eight.
The lyrics to this carol were written in 1849 by a Unitarian Minister, Edmund H Sears, from Wayland, Massachusetts, and the music was composed by Richard S Willis in 1850 and entitled “Carol”. This is the tune most widely associated with the hymn in the United States. Of course, the British have their own tune for it - “Noel” - from a tune by Arthur Sullivan in 1784. It is believed the lyrics were written by Sears at the request of his friend, another minister named W.P. Lunt.
Away in a Manger
Interestingly, this hymn was known as Luther's Cradle Hymn and the words are often accredited to Luther, although the lyrics to the first two verses are actually anonymous, though they originate in the United States. It was originally published in a Lutheran Sunday School book in 1885 and then, two years later, by James R. Murray, under the title, “Luther's Cradle Hymn”. There is also discrepancy over the music, with some crediting it to Murray, whilst others believe he adapted a German Folk song, which may be called “Mueller”. Sometimes, however, the words are sung to the tune of a Scottish song named “Flow Gently Sweet Afton”. The hymn is also associated with the tune “Cradle Song”. The third verse was added in 1904 by Dr. John McFarland from New York.
O Holy Night
Originating in France, the title of this hymn was “Cantique de Noel”. It was written as a poem in 1847 by Placide Cappeau de Roquemature at the request of his parish priest. Placide used the birth of Jesus as described in Luke's Gospel as his inspiration and the poem was written during Placide's journey from his home town to Paris. Placide decided his poem needed some music and asked his friend, Adolphe Charles Adams, to compose a melody for it. The song was performed just weeks later at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
Despite being hugely popular with the Catholic church in France, when Placide decided to leave the church to join a socialist movement, and it was discovered that the composer was Jewish, the hymn was denounced. Unfortunately for the Church, the people of France kept singing the hymn and it eventually found its' way to America, courtesy of an American writer named John Sullivan Dwight. An ardent anti-slavery campaigner, Dwight particularly connected with the words of the third verse “Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother and in his name, all oppression shall cease” and the English translation of the hymn became popular in the North during the Civil War.
The carol is also believed to have been sung by a French soldier to start the legendary Christmas ceasefire in 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War.
