Everyone seems to know all of the words of the memorable hymn, 'Amazing Grace' or at least have heard it. The history of the most endearing hymn, Silent Night', is however, not generally known. Just think of it, had we someone there with an iPhone we could've just posted a, no doubt, viral video production here!
Once the effects of 'the oral tradition' have taken hold on what could have been called solid history, the hard facts are faint and the romance, or spin are added and then history becomes more of a legend and sometimes pure myth.
Christmas Carol Was First Written As A Poem:
A Clergyman, who lived in an Austrian alpine village scribed this carol a hundred and ninety five years ago; the year was 1818 and the village was known as Oberndorf. It was the week of Christmas.
The Clergyman, Father Josef Mohr took a journey on foot to visit a family who lived in a cabin high in the mountains. Its recorded that as he walked he became very aware of the beautiful landscape. The blissful silence of the snow covered ground. The dark beauty of the Alpines against the very azure blue sky and the music that sang out from the creeks he first followed then crossed as he made his way to the awaiting family.
It must have been so welcoming to get inside the warm cabin. Its said that the first thing that caught his eye was a mother with her new baby sitting by the fireside. Given the poem that he later wrote we could assume that this 'nativity scene' prompted the thought of the original nativity that he was soon to officiate on Christmas Eve.
By the time he left for the Vicarage it was early nightfall. The moon shone all around and glistened brightly. It was almost like walking in daylight. But it was nightfall; a silient night and Father Mohr felt it to be particularly holy night,... so calm and bright. BUT, little did he know that while he was gone, and all the while as he walked through this dreamy winter landscape, something happened in the church that would threaten his lovely plan for a wonderful Christmas Evening Service!
But What Had Taken Place In His Absence?:
Well, lend me an ear and I'll tell you! His friend, the notable and beloved of all, Choir Master and music teacher discovered that the organ would not play a single note! Remember that this is a village hidden deep in the Austrian Alps! What could he now do with this broken organ? Mind you, no pressure, but it is soon to be Christmas Eve and what is a Christmas Eve Service anywhere in the world without music?! Christmas Eve with everyone happy, singing together with no organ music!? A clear disaster was at hand with no way to turn it around. Franz Gruber thank heavens above, was a consummate Maestro, as such he could play more than one instrument. Its good to know then, that as soon as Father Josef arrived home, he quickly wrote down the words to the simplest of poems that for our joy is still close to the very heart beat of Christmas services all over the world: 'Silent Night', now 195 yrs old, still heard all through the festive season.
Somehow its a bit magical to consider that this simple hymn written some 195 yrs. ago was to become perhaps the most known and beloved Christmas carol of them all. His friend the Choir Master suggested to him that the carol was definitely a Christmas hymn and he felt that the very lyrics suggested the tune it should have.
The Collaboration:
Now, this collaboration between these two souls is one I so wish I could see in some video production...or even a movie made about it. Anyway, isn't it a blessing that Franz could play the guitar! No organ; no problem. When he picked out the simple tune that we still hear today its good to know that it was done that very hour. It was as if it had already been written. The rest was left to history to echo. The caroling service went on as planned and all were blessed. In the Spring, the organ mender came from a nearby village and repaired the organ. When the musician sat down to test out his repairs he played the tune he had composed. The organ mender not only remembered this tune, he took it home and taught it to a few children and they taught it to their friends. And so it way, that Silent Night was first spread all through the land by the children.
What Happened Next To The Song?:
Somehow, from those village children the song found it's way to a well known cathedral in Salzburg. From St. Peter's it was heard in Paris. How it landed in London no one now knows but we do know that from London it traveled to the big cities in America. Then to the small, out of the way, towns. You could travel anywhere in North America, a continent spanning three thousand miles across and everywhere, in churches, school plays, homes and office Christmas parties, you'll hear them sing: 'Silent Night - Holy Night'.
I Heard Silent Night Sung In It's Native Language:
This hymn was written by two native Austrians and as good fate and fortune would have it, I had the privilege of sharing a friendship with an Austrian woman. On one Christmas Eve, she, not being a Christian, sang it to me. Michele was in a sort of exile from her homeland. After the war, she and her husband fled from the impending influence of Nazi Germany and made their home in Canada. On this night, we sat there together looking out on what was a glorious view of the snow capped Canadian Rockies and the deep midnight blue waters, Lake Kootenay. British Columbia was a long ways from Austria.
This gorgeous painting we gazed upon, mixed with her obvious home sickness drew the Christmas Carol, Silent Night out of her. I had never heard her sing before. She was 53 and I was 24 or 25. I remember thinking about how she had taken up piano lessons and I wondered why someone so old would do something like that! So in my characteristic and sometimes, though not meaning to be, unkindness, I ask her why she was doing that? Because everything in my mind set, following on from a very industrious and utilitarian upbringing as an American, I factored that it was a waste of time unless you were ( I love this next useless phrase) unless you were 'going to do something with it'.
Insensitive of me to ask her why she was starting piano lessons now?! I was taken aback when she replied that because she wanted to...she was doing it for herself. I won't forget that lesson.
Memories Are Mentors:
The lasting impression from this incident of long ago, is all about how people are displaced and forever changed because of war.
Poignant also because she adored this Christmas tune and yet said she did not believe in God. "God died in the war. They killed Him." Her singing that hymn, on that night, in the way she did, would be something anybody would remember. She's gone now. Home, wherever that is. I don't believe in death... I do believe in circles.
Michele was a very beautiful woman both inside and out. Blond, loosely curled haired, bright blue eyes that somehow seemed very soft focused. That somehow did not combine with her oft state of nervousness. She was a great thinker and is accredited for introducing me to some of the world's greatest philosophers. I was always surprised that even with her confessed loss of faith in God, she was nevertheless keen on my interest in the Bible and my knowledge of it's history.
Today is December 10th, 2013. Christmas Eve is soon here - I'll have to sing to her, this hymn in her mother tongue; I wouldn't want her to think I've forgotten it.
Once the effects of 'the oral tradition' have taken hold on what could have been called solid history, the hard facts are faint and the romance, or spin are added and then history becomes more of a legend and sometimes pure myth.
Christmas Carol Was First Written As A Poem:
A Clergyman, who lived in an Austrian alpine village scribed this carol a hundred and ninety five years ago; the year was 1818 and the village was known as Oberndorf. It was the week of Christmas.
The Clergyman, Father Josef Mohr took a journey on foot to visit a family who lived in a cabin high in the mountains. Its recorded that as he walked he became very aware of the beautiful landscape. The blissful silence of the snow covered ground. The dark beauty of the Alpines against the very azure blue sky and the music that sang out from the creeks he first followed then crossed as he made his way to the awaiting family.
It must have been so welcoming to get inside the warm cabin. Its said that the first thing that caught his eye was a mother with her new baby sitting by the fireside. Given the poem that he later wrote we could assume that this 'nativity scene' prompted the thought of the original nativity that he was soon to officiate on Christmas Eve.
By the time he left for the Vicarage it was early nightfall. The moon shone all around and glistened brightly. It was almost like walking in daylight. But it was nightfall; a silient night and Father Mohr felt it to be particularly holy night,... so calm and bright. BUT, little did he know that while he was gone, and all the while as he walked through this dreamy winter landscape, something happened in the church that would threaten his lovely plan for a wonderful Christmas Evening Service!
But What Had Taken Place In His Absence?:
Well, lend me an ear and I'll tell you! His friend, the notable and beloved of all, Choir Master and music teacher discovered that the organ would not play a single note! Remember that this is a village hidden deep in the Austrian Alps! What could he now do with this broken organ? Mind you, no pressure, but it is soon to be Christmas Eve and what is a Christmas Eve Service anywhere in the world without music?! Christmas Eve with everyone happy, singing together with no organ music!? A clear disaster was at hand with no way to turn it around. Franz Gruber thank heavens above, was a consummate Maestro, as such he could play more than one instrument. Its good to know then, that as soon as Father Josef arrived home, he quickly wrote down the words to the simplest of poems that for our joy is still close to the very heart beat of Christmas services all over the world: 'Silent Night', now 195 yrs old, still heard all through the festive season.
Somehow its a bit magical to consider that this simple hymn written some 195 yrs. ago was to become perhaps the most known and beloved Christmas carol of them all. His friend the Choir Master suggested to him that the carol was definitely a Christmas hymn and he felt that the very lyrics suggested the tune it should have.
The Collaboration:
Now, this collaboration between these two souls is one I so wish I could see in some video production...or even a movie made about it. Anyway, isn't it a blessing that Franz could play the guitar! No organ; no problem. When he picked out the simple tune that we still hear today its good to know that it was done that very hour. It was as if it had already been written. The rest was left to history to echo. The caroling service went on as planned and all were blessed. In the Spring, the organ mender came from a nearby village and repaired the organ. When the musician sat down to test out his repairs he played the tune he had composed. The organ mender not only remembered this tune, he took it home and taught it to a few children and they taught it to their friends. And so it way, that Silent Night was first spread all through the land by the children.
What Happened Next To The Song?:
Somehow, from those village children the song found it's way to a well known cathedral in Salzburg. From St. Peter's it was heard in Paris. How it landed in London no one now knows but we do know that from London it traveled to the big cities in America. Then to the small, out of the way, towns. You could travel anywhere in North America, a continent spanning three thousand miles across and everywhere, in churches, school plays, homes and office Christmas parties, you'll hear them sing: 'Silent Night - Holy Night'.
I Heard Silent Night Sung In It's Native Language:
This hymn was written by two native Austrians and as good fate and fortune would have it, I had the privilege of sharing a friendship with an Austrian woman. On one Christmas Eve, she, not being a Christian, sang it to me. Michele was in a sort of exile from her homeland. After the war, she and her husband fled from the impending influence of Nazi Germany and made their home in Canada. On this night, we sat there together looking out on what was a glorious view of the snow capped Canadian Rockies and the deep midnight blue waters, Lake Kootenay. British Columbia was a long ways from Austria.
This gorgeous painting we gazed upon, mixed with her obvious home sickness drew the Christmas Carol, Silent Night out of her. I had never heard her sing before. She was 53 and I was 24 or 25. I remember thinking about how she had taken up piano lessons and I wondered why someone so old would do something like that! So in my characteristic and sometimes, though not meaning to be, unkindness, I ask her why she was doing that? Because everything in my mind set, following on from a very industrious and utilitarian upbringing as an American, I factored that it was a waste of time unless you were ( I love this next useless phrase) unless you were 'going to do something with it'.
Insensitive of me to ask her why she was starting piano lessons now?! I was taken aback when she replied that because she wanted to...she was doing it for herself. I won't forget that lesson.
Memories Are Mentors:
The lasting impression from this incident of long ago, is all about how people are displaced and forever changed because of war.
Poignant also because she adored this Christmas tune and yet said she did not believe in God. "God died in the war. They killed Him." Her singing that hymn, on that night, in the way she did, would be something anybody would remember. She's gone now. Home, wherever that is. I don't believe in death... I do believe in circles.
Michele was a very beautiful woman both inside and out. Blond, loosely curled haired, bright blue eyes that somehow seemed very soft focused. That somehow did not combine with her oft state of nervousness. She was a great thinker and is accredited for introducing me to some of the world's greatest philosophers. I was always surprised that even with her confessed loss of faith in God, she was nevertheless keen on my interest in the Bible and my knowledge of it's history.
Today is December 10th, 2013. Christmas Eve is soon here - I'll have to sing to her, this hymn in her mother tongue; I wouldn't want her to think I've forgotten it.
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