Christmas Carols
Information
on German Christmas Carols.
Christmas Carols play an important part in the German
Christmas. There are over fifty German Christmas Carols.
The first songs that describe the birth of Christ originated out of the middle
ages. They were in latin and were sung in the churches. Later
musicians and actors would travel from village to village and act out the
Christmas story From this period songs such as “Kommet ihr Hirten”
(come all you shepherds), “Joseph lieber Joseph mein” (Joseph dearJoseph)
originated. Luther encouraged songs to be sung in German and
composed his own. “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her” being the most
famous of Luther’s compositions. 
The
majority of German Christmas songs are devoted to Mary and baby Jesus.
One of the oldest songs dated back to the 14th century and is called “Es ist
ein Ros’ entsprungen” (There is a flower springing) 
Many
German Christmas carols have taken the tune of other songs and added different
words. For example the tune of “O Tannenbaum” was a song of
coachmen from Hessen, whilst the tune for “O du fröhliche” was taken from a
song sung by fishermen in Sicily.
German Christmas Carols predominantly deal with
the birth of Christ and often refer to Christ as the light of the world.
There are also a number of songs about the angels and lullabies for the
baby Jesus. While they differ from many English carols, the children
do seem to enjoy them. Even the slower ones such as a lullaby “Still,
still, still, weil’s Kindlein schlafen will” which orignated from the
Salzburg area of Austria. The music, German text and English
words for the first two verses are available from the author at Billanook
Primary School.
Silent
Night - a song goes around the world.
Probably the most famous song from the Salzburg area
of Austria is the carol “Silent Night”
This beautiful carol often associated with Germany,
was first performed on Christmas Eve. It was in the Austrian town of
Oberndorf, on the banks of the Salzach, which separated Oberndorf from the
German town of Lauffen. Austrians regard this sone as one of
their national treasures. It is held in reverence and not played on
the radio until Christmas Eve.
The composer of Silent Night was an Austrian
school teacher and organist Franz Xaver Gruber. He was born in Hochdorf,
Austria in the area known as the Innviertel on the 25th of November, 1787.
He trained to be a teacher and his first position was at Arnsdorf.
There is a delightful story about Gruber. It seems that a position at
Arnsdorf became vacant after the death of the school teacher. The
townspeople did not want to force the widow and her children out of the
schoolhouse. They subsequently asked Gruber if he would also take the
previous teacher’s wife as part of the deal. Gruber accepted.
The marriage lasted some eighteen years until her death. She bore him two
children who both died at an early age. Gruber’s second
marriage was to one of his former students who bore him ten children and
this marriage lasted fifteen years until her death. His third
marriage lasted nineteen years until his death in Hallein in 1863. His
last residence and his grave are now a popular tourist destinations.
The writer of the text for Silent Night was
Josepf Mohr, a priest born in Salzburg, Austria.
Of
the two men the story of Joseph Mohr is probably the most fascinating.
He was born in Steingasse 9, in Salzburg on the 11. December 1792.
Photo
taken by the author at Mohr's place of birth in Salzburg, Austria.
His mother was Anna Schober and Josepf was her third
illegitimate child. His father, Josepf Mohr was a musketeer
who came from the small alpine village of Mariapfarr. In those days,
the woman who bore an illegitimate child was forced to pay a substantial
fine. The only person willing to pay and be the child’s godfather was
Franz Joseph Wohlmuth, the last hangman of Salzburg. With such a
dreadful background, the young Joseph Mohr had little opportunity to succeed in
life. However, fortune was on his side. One day the dean of
the cathedral choir, J. N. Hiernle, heard Josepf singing and took him
under his wing. Hiernle enabled him to have an advanced education in
Salzburg and he was a member of the choir of St. Peter at the university church.
Finally on the 21st of August 1815, he was ordained as a priest. Before he
could be ordained he required special papal dispensation as illegitimate
children were forbidden, at that time, to become priests.
Photo taken by the
author of the memorial plaque for Joseph Mohr in Salzburg, Austria.
His first posting was to the village of Mariapfarr,
where his paternal grandfather was still living. It was here that he
wrote the words to Silent Night in 1816. Two years later on
Christmas Eve, 1818, in the church of Saint Nikolaus in Oberndorf, the song was
performed. Mohr left Oberndorf in 1819 and moved onto the Pongau.
He died on the 4th December 1848.
His
simple grave (made out of wrought iron) can still be visited today as well as
the Josepf Mohr school. 
There
are many stories as to why the song was performed. One of these stories is
that the organ had been damaged by floods. It is now the opinion
that Mohr wanted a simple song in the German language that the people of
Oberndorf could understand. It is important to remember that
masses at that time were conducted in Latin and not understood by the people of
Oberndorf, who mostly worked on the river as boatsmen. It is assumed
that the song was performed by Mohr and Gruber, with guitar accompaniment,
after the mass on the 24th of December in front of the Nativity Scene. 
The
organ builder Karl Mauracher, who installed a new organ into the St. Nikolaus
church in 1825, heard the song and took it with him to Tyrol. It was introduced
to the Strasser family from Laimach in the Zillertal.. They
were, singers and glove makers. This family sang the song on the
annual trip to German markets and fairs. Another family from the
Zillertal in Tyrol, namely the Rainer family, brought the song to America where
they performed it in the Trinity Church in New York in the year 1839.
For a while the song was known as the Tyrolean Song. The
song has since been translated in about 300 languages and dialects.
The Silent Night Memorial Chapel in Oberndorf
The St Nikolaus Church is no longer standing as it
was badly damaged in the floods of 1852. Further floods in 1890 damaged
not only the church but much of the town. In the early 1900s, the decision
was made to move the town of Oberndorf up the river, thereby sealing the fate of
the church. By 1910 the church had been pulled down due to massive
maintenance costs. The steeple, which had stood the test of time, was also
pulled down. It was later decided to erect a memorial chapel on the
site of the original St Nikolaus church. It took many years
for the funds to be raised to build the chapel which was finally completed in
1937. Then in 1992 the Bronner family from Frankenmuth,
Michigan USA built a replica of this chapel.
Photo taken by the
author of the memorial chapel in Oberndorf, Austria.
Internet Addresses
Silent Night Museum - This is the house where
Josepf Mohr was born -
http://www.silentnightmuseum.org/museum/outdoor.htm in A-5024 Salzburg,
Steingasse 9. Tel 43 662 878374.
This page http://silentnight.web.za/
has 139 versions in 93 languages.
http://www.engelchen.de
- This is the site of the Museum in Oberndorf, and gives details of
the Silent Night chapel. - Stille Nacht Museum Bruckmannhaus, Stille
Nacht Platz 7, A5110 Oberndorf, Austria.
Silent Night Chapel in Frankenmuth, Michigan USA :http://www.bronners.com/silent_nite.html
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