These are commonly-used features, often likened to the sound of a shepherd’s pipe, and can be found in many compositions associated with Christmas.
This allows for the frequent use of a three-note dotted rhythm pattern (first heard on the first word: “si-i-lent”), which – together with simple and slow-moving harmonies – helps to create a pastoral atmosphere. The melody is set in compound time, that is, with each beat subdivided into three parts. Gruber’s music enhances the folk-like qualities of the carol. Modern hymn books continue to use a variety of different translations, but from the many different versions of the opening line, “Silent night! Holy night!” has become the most widely adopted. Most translate only three of Mohr’s six stanzas – and this shortened form has also become the standard in German-speaking countries. The third stanza meditates on the divinity of the Christ Child and the mystery of the incarnation, while the fifth explores the work of God the Son in bring salvation from sin.Įnglish translations first appeared in the 1850s, and new versions continued to be published well into the 20th century. The same line, “Stille Nacht! heilige Nacht!” (Silent night, holy night) opens each of the six verses, an effective rhetorical device that creates and maintains a tone of quiet mystery throughout the text.Īcross the six verses, Mohr juxtaposes traditional imagery of the peaceful newborn baby resting on his mother’s breast with simple statements that reflect the profundity of his birth in Christian doctrine. The content and careful craftsmanship of Mohr’s lyrics are important factors too. Whether there is something about the carol’s makeshift origins that resonates with the Nativity story itself, or simply the greater sense of intimacy created by the use of the guitar, a rather more domestic instrument than the church organ, the stories of the carol’s origin invest it with a folksy quality that contributes to its popularity. Rather, it is the sense of homely resourcefulness that the story conveys that is important to the way in which Silent Night has subsequently been viewed and appreciated. But the exact historical record of the carol’s genesis are not the most important matter here, however. While Gruber may have been responding to an unexpected situation at short notice, the existence of Mohr’s text indicates that some accounts of the carol as a last ditch collaborative solution have been somewhat embellished.
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