Silent night, Holy night
All is calm, all is bright
'Round yon virgin Mother and Child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from Heaven afar
Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth
The origin of the Christmas carol we know as Silent Night was a poem that was written in 1816 by an Austrian priest called Joseph Mohr. On Christmas Eve in 1818 in the small alpine village called Oberndorf it is reputed that the organ at St. Nicholas Church had broken. Joseph Mohr gave the poem of Silent Night (Stille Nacht) to his friend Franz Xavier Gruber and the melody for Silent Night was composed with this in mind. The music to Silent Night was therefore intended for a guitar and the simple score was finished in time for Midnight Mass. Silent Night is the most famous Christmas carol of all time!
Some Reference Websites
The Silent Night Museum in Salzburg
Childhood in Salzburg
Joseph Mohr was born on December 11, 1792 in the Steingasse in Salzburg. He grew up in a small damp room with his mother Anna Schoiber. Here he grew up with his mother, Anna Schoiber, his grandmother, Maria, his two half-sisters and his cousin Theresia. They all shared one small, damp room and earned their living by spinning and knitting. His father, Franz Joseph Mohr, came from the alpine village of Mariapfarr and aged 28, he joined the army in Salzburg. All he did for his son was to give him his name before he deserted. His mother was sentenced to a fine of nine florins for her "carnal offence", the crime of bearing an illegitimate child. This was as much as Anna earned in a whole year so she was forced to accept the offer of the rich town executioner, Franz Joseph Wohlmuth, to adopt Joseph as his godchild. At that time and with those origins, young Joseph would never have been allowed to learn even a humble craft. However, the cathedral choir-master, Johann Nepomuk Hiernle, happened to hear Joseph singing; he recognized the boy's musical talent and helped him receive an education and to become a priest.
Mariapfarr: The Young Priest Creates Silent Night
Joseph Mohr was ordained in 1815 and sent to his first parish in Mariapfarr. This was the village of his father and here he met his grandfather for the first time.
The old man was to die only a few months later but they were able to spend one Christmas together. In Mariapfarr, the mass on Christmas Eve included German singing and folk instruments as well as the usual Latin litany. It made a deep impression on Joseph and inspired him to write his own carol, which we know as Silent Night, Holy Night, in the next year, 1816. In 1817 Joseph was sent back to Salzburg because of his poor health where he recovered after several weeks in the hospital.
Silent Night! Holy Night! Orginated in the Year 1816
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The original script is dated 1816 and is the only one existing which bears Joseph's handwriting. Discovered in 1995, it lead to a complete reinterpretation of the carol's origin.
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Oberndorf: First Performance of Silent Night! Holy Night!
He was moved to the new parish of Oberndorf. Here he had the good fortune to be working with Father Joseph Kessler, a liberal-minded man. Together they arranged mixed German-Latin masses, of the sort Joseph had encountered in Mariapfarr. The parishioners were delighted as they could now understand what was being said in church for the first time and they attended the ceremonies in huge numbers. But when the news of these reforms reached the archiepiscopal consistory, they were met with great disapproval and Kessler was promptly removed. He was replaced by Georg Heinrich Nöstler, a traditionalist who rejected the use of German in church outright. For Joseph it became very difficult to work with the older priest and the two were in constant conflict. Joseph was by far the more popular of the two as he brought his God and his guitar to the people in a way they could understand and sang their songs. Nöstler found Joseph's behaviour inappropriate for a priest and issued a formal complaint to the consistory in Salzburg. When the conclusion of the inquiry fell greatly in Joseph's favour, Nöstler was outraged. He resorted to spreading rumours about Joseph's childhood in an attempt to undermine the younger man's popularity. He succeeded. For moral reasons, the majority turned their backs on Joseph. Even the teacher and organist Franz Xaver Gruber, who had been his closest friend until now, was reluctant to be seen at his side. However, just before Christmas in 1818, when Joseph's situation was most bleak, the church organ broke down. Officially the mice were held to blame but it is likely that Gruber himself was responsible. Either way, it was impossible to hold the Christmas celebrations in the traditional way. Nöstler was at his wits' end and had no choice but to accept Mohr and Gruber's offer of an alternative mass. So it was that on Christmas Eve 1818 Joseph was able to perform Silent Night, Holy Night publicly for the first time. Under normal circumstances, it would never have been acceptable for a German song to be played with guitar accompaniment in church.
Final Years in Hallein, Anthering, Hof, Hintersee, Wagrain
But arguments flared up once more in July of the next year, and Joseph applied to the consistory for a transferral. In October 1819 he left Oberndorf for Kuchl. Within nine years he moved through eleven parishes, Golling, Vigaun, Hallein, Krispl, Adnet, Anthering, Koppl, Anthering again, Eugendorf and Hof. He was given care of his own parish for the first time in Hintersee in 1827. When he died in Wagrain on December 4th 1848, he left this world as poor as he had entered it. He had given everything to the people who needed his protection and support. There wasn't even enough money for a proper funeral. But for all of us he left something to remember. A simple, beautiful carol celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, whose words "what you have done to one of my poorest, that you have done to me", he had devoted his life to following.
If you've read this far, you're probably wondering why I'm posting all this info about some guy that lived 200 years ago. Three reasons, really.
- It's the Christmas season, and Silent Night is probably the most well-known and loved of all the Christmas Carols.
- It's the 214th anniversary of Joseph Mohr's birth on December 11, 1792. (I guess it's his birthday.)
- He's my great great great great great great great grandfather. (My grandma's maiden name was Mohr.)
Searching Google for
"Silent Night" +Mohr +story returned "about 31,700" matches on December 5, 2006.
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