I love this christmas carol, when I was in church choir, about 12yrs ago, I got to sing this solo at the christmas eve mass, and I really enjoyed singing it, even the high bits as well,thats is when I could sing, now I can't sing for my supper ..... I have been looking for this song on cd by josh groban, he sang it in america in 2002 and can't get it anywhere even on e-bay!!! Josh sings it beautifully it's on youtube but it doesn't do it justice.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OTgMe5demPcNow for some bit of history on this beautiful christmas carol
O Holy Night" ("Cantique de Noël") is a well-known
Christmas carol composed by
Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the
French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by
Placide Cappeau (1808-1877), a wine merchant and poet. Cappeau was asked to write a Christmas poem by a parish priest. It has become a standard modern carol for solo performance with an operatic finish.
Born: October 25, 1808, Roquemaure, France.
Died: August 8, 1877, Roquemaure, France
According to Placide, he wrote the poem, “Minuit Chrétien” (
O Holy Night) in a stagecoach to Paris, between
Mâcon and
Dijon. More likely, this famous
Christmas carol was written by Cappeau in the usual way. Despite
Adolphe Adam calling his tune “la Marseillaise religieuse” (The religious
Marseillaise), In the
carol, the singer recalls the birth of
Jesus. It was translated into English by
Unitarian minister
John Sullivan Dwight, editor of Dwight's Journal of Music in 1855, and lyrics also exist in other languages.
Adams had been dead for many years and Cappeau and Dwight were old men when on Christmas Eve 1906, Reginald Fessenden, a 33-year-old university professor and former chief chemist for Thomas Edison, did something long thought impossible. Using a new type of generator, Fessenden spoke into a microphone and, for the first time in history, a man's voice was broadcast over the airwaves: "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed," he began in a clear, strong voice, hoping he was reaching across the distances he supposed he would. Shocked radio operators on ships and astonished wireless owners at newspapers sat slack-jawed as their normal, coded impulses, heard over tiny speakers, were interrupted by a professor reading from the gospel of Luke.
To the few who caught this broadcast, it must have seemed like a miracle, hearing a voice somehow transmitted to those far away. Some might have believed they were hearing the voice of an angel. Fessenden was probably unaware of the sensation he was causing on ships and in offices; he couldn't have known that men and women were rushing to their wireless units to catch this Christmas Eve miracle.
After finishing his recitation of the birth of Christ, Fessenden picked up his violin and played "O Holy Night," the first song ever sent through the air via radio waves. When the carol ended, Fessenden read another selection from the book of Luke: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will." The Christmas program was picked up as far south as Norfolk, Virginia; when the program was repeated on New Year's Eve, it was heard as far away as the West Indies.
Since that first rendition at a small Christmas mass in 1847, "O Holy Night" has been sung millions of times in churches in every corner of the world. And since the moment a handful of people first heard it played over the radio, the carol has gone on to become one of the entertainment industry's most recorded and played spiritual songs. This incredible work--requested by a forgotten parish priest, written by a poet who would later split from the church, given soaring music by a Jewish composer, and brought to Americans to serve as much as a tool to spotlight the sinful nature of slavery as tell the story of the birth of a Savior--has become one of the most beautiful, inspired pieces of music ever created. The
Here are the lyrics O Holy Night
O! Holy night! The stars, their gleams prolonging,
Watch o'er the Eve of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error, longing
For His appearance, then the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope; the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was Born;
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts we stand by the Babe adored.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
And come now, Shepherds, from your flocks unboard.
The Son of God lay thus w'thin lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our Lord.
He knows our need, our weakness never lasting,
Behold your King! By Him, let Earth accord!
Behold your King! By Him, let Earth accord!
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Long live His truth, and may it last forever,
For in His name all discordant noise shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
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