THE Christmas song Silent night was performed for the first time 24 December 1818sung by its author Joseph Mohr and accompanied by the musical composer Franz Xavier Gruber, in a church in Obendorf, Austria.
Today the song is a UNESCO Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It has been translated into more than 300 languages and there are more than 3,700 interpretations.making it the most covered song of all time.
For reference, coming in a distant second is Summerby Gershwin, with more than 2,300 versions, and then another Christmas hit appears, White Christmaswith more than 2100 versions.
They sang it in languages like Arabic, Gaelic, Swahili and Japanese. She has been approached by opera singers, choirs, crooners, pop divas, jazz bands and even surf and punk bands.
The song is called in English Silent night It has been passed down from generation to generation, sometimes undergoing changes in the lyrics due to translations. Some of the artists who have performed it over the years have included Elvis Presley, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Andre Rieu, Michael Bublé, One Direction and even punk star Nina Hagen.
Indeed, music icons from all decades sang it in their own way: Frank Sinatra In the 1940s, The Temptations and Simon and Garfunkel in the 60s Boyz II Men and the diva Mariah Carey in the 1990s and more recently Taylor Swift and Dolly Parton.
In Spanish, Silent night They also have countless versions, from Luis Miguel Until Luca Prodan with the Sumo group.
The original composition
The original idea for the carol was a 6 stanza poem created in 1816, called The year of summer, whose narrative was based on crop-destroying cold and resulting famine. According to historians, the song was a wish for peace.
The melody was composed at Mohr’s request for the guitar, because his church’s organ had been consumed by rats and could not be repaired due to lack of funds. Finally It came out two years later, for Midnight Mass. of 1818.
Since its origin, its diffusion has grown thanks to word of mouth, until it reached the ears of the Emperor of Austria and the Tsar of Russia. Some glove sellers sang it to attract the public and one day performed for the Kaiser, who ordered the Berlin Cathedral Choir to sing it year after year on Christmas Eve.
It is said to have arrived in the United Kingdom thanks to Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. And later he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, where he also became popular.
A lyric that resonates with people
According to Sarah Eyerly, associate professor of musicology at Florida State University, lyrics are the key to composition’s appeal.
“I think there’s something deeply meaningful in the lyrics of the song that talk about those kinds of circumstances that resonate with people in a way that transcends Christian messages and transcends the celebration of Christmas,” Eyerly said. “It really is a sense of universal hope and peace.”
Of the 3,700 releases, most are instrumental and three have reached the Billboard chart: Bing Crosby in 1960, Mahalia Jackson in 1962 and Carrie Underwood in 2021.
Doing some math, if you multiply the 3,700 versions by Bing Crosby’s 2 minute and 40 second version, you could listen to the song for a week without stopping or repeating a version.
Source: Clarin
