As it is approaching Christmas we are now looking at the top ten Christmas Carols. At number 5 is Silent Night, this wasn’t selected during lockdown for the St Fillan’s online Songs of Praise.
It was highlighted in a “Reflections from the Pew” in 2022, you can read more here.
Originally written in German, ‘Stille Nacht’ was composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber with lyrics by Joseph Mohr, and was translated to English in 1859. During the Christmas truce of 1914 during World War I, the carol was sung simultaneously by English and German troops.
It is “always” included in festivals of Lessons and Carols but it is interesting that no one selected it for the online Songs of Praise.
Here are some online comments:
“I know this one is popular, but for some reason I find “Silent Night” a bit… sedate. I guess that’s because it’s supposed to be a lullaby, but it just doesn’t fill me with excitement for the holidays. A good carol should raise your Christmas spirits, not put them to sleep.”
“Silent Night can sound like a dirge, as anyone who has heard it rendered by the year 4 violin group at a school Christmas concert can attest, but there is something beautiful about its images of tranquility, particularly when you know it was written in the aftermath of a war. Sinéad O’Connor’s version peels away the overfamiliarity.”