Silent Night
"Silent Night" (German: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht") is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria.[1] It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011.[2] The song was first recorded in 1905[3] and has remained a popular success, appearing in films and multiple successful recordings, as well as being quoted in other musical compositions. It is the world's most recorded Christmas song, with more than 137,000 known recordings.[4]
"Stille Nacht" and "Silent Night, Holy Night" redirect here. For the 1995 film, see Stille Nacht (film). For the 1976 film, see Silent Night, Holy Night (film).
Stille Nacht
Silent Night
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht
Silent Night, Holy Night
German
24 December 1818
1833
Translations[edit]
In 1859, the Episcopal priest John Freeman Young, then serving at Trinity Church, New York City, wrote and published the English translation that is most frequently sung today, translated from three of Mohr's original six verses.[10] The version of the melody that is generally used today is a slow, meditative lullaby or pastorale, differing slightly (particularly in the final strain) from Gruber's original, which was a "moderato" tune in 6
8 time and siciliana rhythm.[11][12] Today, the lyrics and melody are in the public domain, although newer translations usually are not.
In 1998 the Silent Night Museum in Salzburg commissioned a new English translation by Bettina Klein of Mohr's German lyrics. For the most part, Klein preserves both Young's translation and the interpretive decisions that inform his word-choices. Yet Klein also attempts occasionally to restore Mohr's original phrasing, changing, for instance, Young's "Holy infant, so tender and mild" to Mohr's "Holy infant with curly hair" (Holder Knab' im lockigten Haar). However, she continues to interpret Mohr's traute heilige Paar as referring to Mary and the baby, whereas Mohr's use of the word traute can mean "espoused," thus suggesting perhaps that the "holy pair" represents Mary and Joseph watching (picking up Mohr's wacht) over the curly-haired infant/boy. [13]
The carol has been translated into about 300 languages.[14]
Several theatrical and television films depict how the song was ostensibly written. Most of them report the organ breaking down at the church in Oberndorf, which appeared in a fictional story published in the U.S. in the 1930s.[6]
Several recordings of "Silent Night" have reached the record charts in various countries. These include:
