The Oldest Known Recording Of "Silent Night"

The Oldest Known Recording Of "Silent Night"

Silent Night

The story of probably the most famous Christmas carol in the world.

It was a difficult time after the Napoleonic wars. Joseph Mohr from Salzburg wanted to bring comfort. This clergyman (1792-1848), born in a poorhouse, was firmly committed to helping the "poor people" of the Salzburg region. It is also said that he bought the spoils of poachers and gave them to the poor. In 1816, he wrote a poem in Mariapfarr, Lungau, evoking the joy of the birth of Jesus and the hope it brought to the people:

Silent night, holy night!
First proclaimed the shepherds,
By the alleluia of angels.
Resounding loud from far and near:
Christ, the Savior is here.

Two years later, Mohr was an assistant priest in Oberndorf and had befriended the town's schoolmaster, Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863) from Arnsdorf, who earned extra money here as an organist. On the evening of December 24, Mohr gave him his poem and asked him to set it to music before evening mass. Gruber came up with the ingeniously simple melody that every child knows today.

St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, where the song was first heard, was demolished at the beginning of the 20th century.

That evening, the two men performed the song for the first time after Christmas mass in a side chapel of St. Nikola Church in Oberndorf.

Gruber sang the bass part, Mohr the tenor part and accompanied the guitar: the world premiere of the "eternal song". Some sources tell that the church organ was broken and therefore they had to adapt the song to the guitar.

It became famous all at once in Leipzig in 1832 and from then on spread rapidly all over the world. It is said that in 1839 the Rainer family sang it for the first time at Christmas mass in New York.

The song became famous in Leipzig in 1832 and spread rapidly throughout the world. In 1839, the Rainer family is said to have sung it for the first time at Christmas mass in New York.

In 1854, the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV wanted to know more about his favorite carol and commissioned an investigation. Hence the triumph of the world's most famous song and its world tour were unstoppable!

🎄✨⭐❤️🎄 Source:
text (adapted): dmpa.de
The video is the oldest known recording in the world: YouTube

Song Lyrics
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 Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia Christ, the Saviour is born Christ, the Saviour 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

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

Appreciate Y’all
Brozme
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