Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Carols Round III

Posting this verse, I’m disproving my own theory that all the great old Christmas hymns were written by bible-thumping Protestants. The words to this carol were penned by a Catholic poet, at the request of his parish priest. The writer was so impressed with his own work, he sought out a friend to create a melody for them; a friend who just happened to be a popular composer of the day. A man who made a living composing scores for ballets and operas. That explains the hauntingly beautiful melody…certainly one of the loveliest of all Christmas songs.

This almost scores one for the musical sensibilities of the Catholic Church…except that, ten years after the song was written, and had become one of the most popular carols in France, the Church banned it because the lyricist had embraced socialism, and the composer was a Jew. In the end, the story serves to demonstrate all the more the pigheadedness and complete musical ineptitude of the Church when it came to songs written in anything that wasn’t Gregorian Latin.

Luckily for the song, it caught the attention of a Unitarian minister in Boston, who translated it into English. As an abolitionist, he was especially moved by the verse I have posted above. It became a Christmas anthem for the abolitionist movement in America during the Civil War.

7 comments:

  1. OK, you stumped me completely!  And I just heard my daughter sing this a couple of days ago.  But she didn''t sing this part; I don't think I've ever heard ANYONE sing this part.  Well done!

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  2. I remember this story.  The lyrics are ringing a distant bell, but I can't get my mind to fit the meter into a melody.  I'm really going to have a "doh" moment when you post the answer.

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  3. I know this one, because I'm in a church choir and we just sang it!  "O Holy Night", am I right?

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  4. BTW, I've meant to tell you that I love the new look of your journal.  You inspire me to really develop some more computer skills.  Mine looks so drab.  I love the new picture.  You look wonderful.

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  5. "O Holy Night". second verse I believe.  One of my top favorites at this time of year providing it's sung halfway decently.  Thanks for the background of its origin. :)

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  6. I can't say that I am familiar with many hymns and if I know any I didn't know that they were hymns. Thanks for the info.

    Amy

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  7. That must be the original version. I'm listening to a Perry Como version. I think they just keep singing the first verse over and over. Gee, can't bring up fighting oppression at Christmas can we. (I think I'm channeling Scrooge) Thanks for the new information
    Jackie

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