This year we celebrate the 180th anniversary of the first performance
of "Silent Night! Holy Night!"  A recently discovered manuscript in
the hand of Joseph Mohr confirms that the words were written by this
young assistant priest in 1816; in the upper right corner he later
placed the words, "Melodie von Fr. Xav. Gruber" (Franz Xaver Gruber).

On Christmas Eve, 1818, Mohr discovered that the organ in the parish
church in Oberndorf, Austria, was broken, so he sought help from his
friend Franz Gruber, the church organist.  Gruber completed a hymn he
was composing and applied it to Mohr's lyric.  At the Midnight Mass
that night, they stood together with the choir, in front of the main
alter, to sing the six-stanza carol, accompanied by Mohr's guitar.

The lullaby-like melody and simple message of heavenly peace can be
heard today from small-town street corners in mid-America to magnifi-
cent cathedrals in Europe, and from outdoor candlelight concerts in
Australia to palm-thatched huts in northern Peru.

The impact that this carol has had on the world is astounding.  Nearly
100 years after its premiere in Oberndorf, it caused a World War I
battle to temporarily cease as British and German soldiers sang of
heavenly peace on Christmas Eve.

Although the words were written by a modest curate, and the music com-
posed by a musician hardly known outside the province where he resided,
the popularity of Silent Night can almost be termed "miraculous."
Its powerful message has crossed all borders and language barriers;
the song has been translated into more than 200 languages, and is an
anchor for Christmas celebrations everywhere.

Robbie Rhodes

 [ This article was adapted from "Celebrating Silence", German Life,
 [ Dec. 1998, and from articles at
 [
 [    http://www.silentnightmuseum.org/josephmohr/index_g.htm
 [    http://members.theglobe.com/Nikola1/stille_nacht/index.html