SILENT NIGHT
- 6 days ago
- 1 min read
If you were asked to name a few of your favourite Christmas Carols, one of them would most certainly be SILENT NIGHT. It is generally sung in contemplation as a closing carol at many Christmas Eve services still today.
It was written by Father Joseph Mohr who ministered at the newly constructed Church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, a town near Salzburg, Austria. Father Mohr had been preparing for the Christmas Eve, midnight service and was distraught that his church organ had broken down and would not be available for the music that night.
He had written the words to SILENT NIGHT in 1816. Joseph pulled out the words and took them to his organist, Franz Gruber, to compose a simple tune. On that December 24th night in 1818, Silent Night was sung for the first time, as a duet and accompanied by a guitar.
When the organ repair man came to fix the organ and heard about the new song, he requested a copy. As he went about his work of musical instrument repairs in the region, he shared the new carol.
The Strasser Family children began to sing this new song and in time were asked to sing it for the King and Queen. After that royal performance, the fame of the carol was well assured. It was translated into English by a minister named John Freeman Young in 1863. And to think that we have this beloved carol in part, because of a broken organ!