It was a ‘Silent Night’ when this beloved song was first composed. If it weren’t for a broken pipe organ, the world probably wouldn’t have had its most popular Christmas carol.
Perhaps it was that very silence that inspired the Reverend Joseph Mohr to pen those now-famous words in 1818. At the time, it was probably sheer desperation rather than inspiration that motivated him.
As Father Mohr was preparing for Christmas Eve Mass at his church in the small Austrian town of Oberndorf, someone discovered that the church’s old organ was not working. With only a few days to go and the nearest repairman several days away, it seemed that the mass would have to begin without musical accompaniment.
Frustrated in his efforts to plan a memorable Christmas, Father Mohr set about making another plan. This was in the midst of all his usual parish duties, including the blessing of a newborn baby. On this particular call, Father Mohr was suddenly startled by the words of what is now known as “Silent Night” or “Stille Nacht” in his native language. Quickly, not to miss the lines that were rapidly filling his brain, he ended his call and ran home. Here he wrote four stanzas, the first of which he says in English:
Silent night Holy night,
Everything is calm everything is bright,
Round virgins, mother and son.
Holy infant so tender and meek,
Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
When he had written his words on parchment, he called his colleague, Franz Gruber, the musician who formed the parish choir. He managed to get the fact out of her that, in addition to his progress on the organ, Gruber was also a guitarist. However, Gruber emphatically informed him that his guitar skills were less than proficient. Undeterred, Mohr presented the words of his new poem to Gruber. Gathering together a dusty, little-used guitar, the two men composed the song that would serve as music for the Oberndorf Christmas Mass.
It was unlikely at the time that Mohr or Gruber had any idea of the impact they would have on history. In fact, the song almost disappeared into obscurity for a decade. It was then that “Silent Night” fell into the hands of the Strasser family from the Zillertal Valley.
Strasser’s four young, musically trained sons spent many hours singing outside the store to boost their parents’ glove-making business. In a similar way to a modern talent agent discovering some secret talent in the most unlikely places, “Silent Night” was introduced to the Strassers. Reshuffled from two-part to four-part harmony, the Strasser children were catapulted into instant renown with their surrender. Valley residents renamed it “The Song of Heaven” as the Strasser children sounded like a choir of angels when they performed it. They sang so beautifully that, in fact, the Strassers were invited to perform it for kings and queens.
It may have been a king who placed “Silent Night” indelibly on the lips of Christendom. King Frederick William IV of Prussia heard her sing some 22 years after the Strasser children began performing “The Song of Heaven”. Afterwards, he stated that he should be “given first place in all future Christmas concerts” within the domain of his government. Whether he really was or not is not certain. The truth is that “Silent Night” crossed the limits of King Frederick to be loved throughout the world.