83. Silent night, holy night
Joseph Mohr, 1792-1848
The most loved and most widely used of all Christmas carols.
It was composed December 24, 1818, by Joseph Mohr, 1792-1848, assistant Catholic priest in an obscure German village, Oberndorf, near Salzburg, Austria. At a Christmas celebration in the schoolhouse Mohr withdrew for a time, then returned with a folded sheet of paper on which this carol was written. He handed it to his friend, Franz Gruber, 1787-1863, schoolmaster, song writer, and organist, as a Christmas gift. Gruber composed the tune for it the same evening. The author and composer sang it together, the latter accompanying on the guitar, and a choir of girls from the village joining in the melody. The hymn and the tune became immensely popular in Germany and Austria even before they appeared in print, through their use by wandering Tyrolese singers. Today the carol is sung in all Christian lands. It was a favorite of the great opera singer Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink, and she sang it on many of her concert appearances.
MUSIC. STILLE NACHT. In keeping with German custom, the tune is named after the first line of the hymn for which it was written.
A plaque in the schoolhouse at Oberndorf bears the following inscription:
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht!
Wer hat dich, O Lied, gemacht?
Mohr hat dich so schoen erdacht,
Gruber zu Gehoer gebracht,
Priester und Lehrer vereint.