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Austria’s “Stille Nacht” | Part 2

Christmas > Advent > “Silent Night” 1 > Part 2

A Christmas Carol Goes Around the World

Around 1832, when Gruber’s melody was performed by folk singers from Austria’s Ziller Valley (Zillertal), several musical notes were altered, and the “Silent Night” melody became what we know today. (See links below for MIDI versions of the original melody.) But Austria’s Stille Nacht Gesellschaft (Silent Night Society) not only works to protect the Mohr-Gruber legacy—it encourages the use of the original notes that Gruber composed.

SN-Kapelle
The Austrian Stille-Nacht-Gedächtniskapelle (memorial chapel) in Oberndorf bei Salzburg is visited annually by an estimated 150,000 visitors from all over the world. A nearby museum is devoted to the historical aspects of “Silent Night.”
PHOTO: BRONNER'S CHRISTmas WONDERLAND, Frankenmuth, Michigan.
In Austria “Stille Nacht” is considered a national treasure. Traditionally the song may not be played publicly before Christmas Eve, and any commercial use of the 180-year-old carol is verboten. Contrast that with the situation in most other countries, where you are likely to hear “Silent Night” playing in the local shopping mall or even as part of a radio or TV commercial. Nevertheless, “Silent Night” enjoys a revered position among Christmas carols all over the world, no matter what it may be called or in which language it may be performed.

Franz Gruber was born on 25 Nov. 1787 in the Austrian town of Hochburg. He became a teacher and later moved to Arnsdorf. The rooms where he lived and worked can still be seen on the second floor of the Arnsdorf schoolhouse. But Gruber obviously did not spend all his time composing music. He fathered a dozen children by three different wives! In 1839 the Gruber family left Arnsdorf for Hallein, just south of Salzburg. His grave now lies next to the family's former home there and is adorned with a Christmas tree each December.

German Christmas Carols
Lyrics in German and English! - from AboutGerman.net

Franz Gruber
Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863) composed the music for “Stille Nacht.”

Joseph Franz Mohr was born an illegitimate child on 11 Dec. 1792 in Salzburg. He became a Catholic priest in August 1815 (only after receiving the special papal dispensation then required for illegitimate persons entering the priesthood). Mohr’s final resting place is in the tiny Alpine ski resort of Wagrain where he died penniless in 1848. He donated his modest earthly fortune for the education of the children in the community. Today the Joseph Mohr School stands as a fitting memorial—only yards away from the grave of the man who wrote the words heard round the world.

Muppets CD
One of the most popular Christmas recordings of all time features the late John Denver and the Muppets singing "Stille Nacht" in German—and many other Christmas favorites. More about this CD from Amazon.com. This and other German Christmas music CDs on our Christmas Music Page.

The first known performance of “Stille Nacht” in the United States took place near New York City's Trinity Church. In 1839 the Rainer family singers of Austria included the German version of “Stille Nacht” in their repertoire during an appearance at the Alexander Hamilton Monument near the church, some 24 years before an English version of the carol would be published.

The “Silent Night” translation that we sing today in English first appeared in 1863—the year of Franz Gruber’s death, and some 45 years after the song’s initial performance in Austria. The English-language author was unknown until 1959, when it was determined to have been the Episcopal priest John Freeman Young, assigned at the time of his work to the same Trinity Church associated with the 1839 performance of “Stille Nacht.” Reverend Young apparently enjoyed translating European hymns and carols into English, and it is his 135-year-old “Silent Night” text that is found today in most hymnals and Christmas carol collections published in the English-speaking world.

Below we present the German lyrics written by Joseph Mohr side-by-side with a literal English translation. English speakers can compare the two versions and see how closely the familiar English lyrics of the first verse follow the original German text penned by Mohr on that fateful Christmas Eve in 1818.

Stille Nacht | Silent Night
Deutsch English
 Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht!  Silent night, holy night
 Alles schläft, einsam wacht  everyone sleeps; alone watches
 Nur das traute heilige Paar  only the beloved, holy couple
 Holder Knab im
   lockigten Haar,		  blessed boy in
   curly hair,
 Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!  sleep in heavenly peace
 Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!  sleep in heavenly peace.
Words by Joseph Mohr. Music by Franz Xaver Gruber.

MORE > Stille-Nacht-Gesellschaft Silent Night Society (in English and German)
  More 'Silent Night' Web links below
 

NEXT > The “Silent Night” Story - Part 3

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Related Pages - Silent Night & Christmas

This Site

The Web

  • Stille-Nacht-Gesellschaft - The Silent Night Society (in English and German)
  • Silent Night and Local Heritage Museum - Oberndorf
    This Web site—in German—and the museum are located in Oberndorf, Austria, the home of the "Silent Night" (“Stille Nacht”) carol. Features some information not available anywhere else about the world's most famous Christmas carol and interesting links from the museum and the Silent Night Association.

altar
A view of the original altar
from the St. Nicholas Church
in Oberndorf where “Stille
Nacht” was first performed.

  • An Austrian Christmas - Vienna’s Christkindlmarkt. In German or English. “Wiener Adventzauber!” (only in season)
  • Franz X. Gruber-Museum in Arnsdorf, Austria. In German or English. The webmaster's family has long been associated with the preservation and interpretation of Franz Gruber's life and times. MIDI of original "Silent Night" melody.
  • Frank Petersohn's Silent Night Page - The full German and English (translation) text, plus Latin! This Canadian site is also home to literally thousands of folk songs and other musical texts.
  • Silent Night Web by Jako Olivier in South Africa. Features "227 versions of the song in 142 different languages." "Silent Night" history, translations, multimedia, and links.
  • Sigi Kosta's Silent Night site honored the 180th anniv. of the carol (in 1998) and offers info and pictures. MIDI of original melody. (Last update: 2002)
  • Silent Night Chapel, Frankenmuth, Michigan is a replica of the original chapel in Austria (also pictured here). Photos and information. By the Bronner family.
  • Photo of stained-glass window in the Stille-Nacht-Kapelle in Oberndorf, Austria depicting “Vikar Josef Mohr” and the church where “Silent Night” was originally performed.
  • German Christmas Carols - Lyrics in German and English! From our AboutGerman.net site.

NEXT > 'Stille Nacht' Photo

BACK > 'Stille Nacht' Part 1

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