The Stories Behind
You might have heard a somewhat romanticized story behind the creation of one of the most beloved carols "Silent Night." Initially many thought the carol was written by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven. After this statement was disproved, the story goes that "Silent Night" was created on short notice on Christmas Eve in a small Austrian parish in the early 19th century. With pipe organ bellows eaten by mice, only a voice and a guitar could save the Christmas spirit. And so the story of a carol translated to 140 languages, sung in dark, candle-lit sanctuaries every Christmas Eve, helps us keep our sentiments alive. I am the last one who would want to spoil a sentiment, but understanding the process of how music in a church is delivered, I could not resist fact-checking this story. Here's what I found.
The original music and lyrics were a collaboration between two Austrians: a skilled organist and choir director Franz Gruber, and a young assistant priest Joseph Mohr. The parish organ was not playable at the time, which I doubt was a case of mice gnawing at it, but quite a common occurrence of possible poor craftsmanship to start with, or neglect and disrepair in parishes where there was not enough money to maintain such a complicated machine. In fact, we know that the organ was replaced shortly after, in 1825. Knowing that the organ was unreliable, Mohr and Gruber had to come up with another solution. On December 24, 1818, Mohr asked Gruber to come up with music for a six-stanza poem, which Mohr wrote a couple of years earlier. On short notice indeed (which is not that unusual for a church setting) Gruber wrote a simple melody and added chords for a guitar. The same evening both Gruber and Mohr sang it as a duo, with the choir repeating the last line, and Mohr accompanying on the guitar. A perfect example of a brilliant and quick solution to everyday church problems. As Leonard Bernstein famously said, "To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time."
You will read this and other origin stories for all the carols in the printed program of this year's Celebration of Christmas.
And as far as the "story behind" the Celebration of Christmas 2022 itself, allow me to indulge for a moment. Building a program like Celebration of Christmas starts in the summer months - an idea sparks, an image appears, audience feedback from last year surfaces, an outline develops. It's a soup of creativity that boils and congeals over time. By early fall the guest musicians are booked, sheet music purchased and distributed, and the hours of practicing with all the groups involved commence. By the end of November, the printed program is finalized, the pastors, readers, and ushers scheduled, the logistics and support staff roles figured out, and the last instrumental music arrangements written. With extra Saturday rehearsals, a dress rehearsal with all involved a day before the performances, and never enough time, we are more than excited to share this program with you on December 11th at 4 and 7 pm.
What is this year's Celebration of Christmas going to be like and why would you consider bringing your family and friends?
We are focusing on the tradition this year. We will be performing and inviting the audience to participate in singing such beloved carols as First Nowell, Gesù Bambino, O Come All Ye Faithful, Go Tell It on the Mountain, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and Jingle Bells. With handbells, brass, percussion, keyboards, flute, and expanded choir, we hope you will experience the power of spirit-moving communal singing. You will also get a chance to hear more intimate solos and choral pieces like Away in a Manger, Carol of the Bells, and Silent Night. As happened last year, a small selection of Polish Christmas carols will make the program - this is a sentiment I allow myself to indulge in. Hopefully, some of the music selections will leave you tapping to the jazz and calypso rhythms. We guarantee glorious organ and brass selections, compositions, and arrangements by some of the best-sacred musicians like John Rutter, Dan Forrest, David Willcocks, and Mark Hayes, and perfectly suited readings by Ann Weems, Emmy Arnold, Christina Rossetti, and Evelyn Underhill.
I hope this Advent and Christmas season you will get a chance to dig deeper and discover "stories behind" Christmas, your sentiments and associations with the season, and the Reason why we go to such lengths to do it all.