Declared 'unfit for church services' in France and later embraced by U.S. abolitionists, the song continues to inspire. This is an intriguing story of a Jew and an atheist who worked together to create a simple Christmas carol that went on to become one of the most well-known Christmas carols of all time. Words: Placide Cappeau (1808-1877), 1847; Music: Adolphe-Charles Adam (1803-1856). Translated from French to English by John Sullivan Dwight. (1813-1893). In Public Domain. In 1847, Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure was the commissionaire of wines in a small French town. He had become known for his poetry, so the parish priest asked the commissionaire to pen a poem for Christmas mass. This was a special service to celebrate the completion of the renovation of the church organ -- a massive undertaking. Interestingly, Placide was an avowed atheist. He was moved by his own creation, which he called "Cantique de Noel" and felt like it needed music. He consulted his friend, Adolphe Charles Adams, the son of a well-known classical musician who became renown in his own right. As a Jew, Adolphe struggled with the words of "Cantique de Noel" because it represented a day he didn't celebrate and a man he did not view as the son of God. In the end, Adams' finished work pleased both poet and priest. The song was performed just three weeks later at a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Initially, the carol was wholeheartedly accepted by the church in France and the song quickly found its way into various Catholic Christmas services. But when Placide Cappeau later walked away from the church and became a part of the socialist movement, and church leaders discovered that Adolphe Adams was a Jew, the song--which had quickly grown to be one of the most beloved Christmas songs in France--was suddenly and uniformly denounced by the church as 'unfit for church services'. Yet even as the church tried to bury the Christmas song, the French people continued to sing it, and a decade later a reclusive American writer brought it to a whole new audience halfway around the world. John Sullivan Dwight was an ardent abolitionist. The lyrics, "Truly he taught us to love one another; his law is love and his gospel is peace. Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother; and in his name all oppression shall cease," supported Dwight's own view of slavery in the South. Published in his magazine, Dwight's English translation of "O Holy Night" quickly found favor in America, especially in the North during the Civil War. Back in France, even though the song had been banned from the church for almost two decades, many commoners still sang "Cantique de Noel" at home. Legend has it that on Christmas Eve 1871, in the midst of fierce fighting between the armies of Germany and France, during the Franco-Prussian War, a French soldier suddenly jumped out of his muddy trench, and sang the carol in all it's verses. The story goes that the fighting stopped for the next twenty-four hours while the men on both sides observed a temporary peace in honor of Christmas day. The carol gradually was embraced back into the Catholic church. on Christmas Eve 1906, 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 followed by a phonograph playing Handel's 'Largo', then a violin solo of 'O Holy Night'. Reginald Fessenden--a 33-year-old university professor and Canadian inventor--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. 'O Holy Night' was the second song to be broadcast on this new technology, soon to be called 'radio'. Condensed from http://www.findthepower.com/ChristmasPagesTheStoryOfOHolyNight.htm Lyrics and Chords: capo 1 [G] O Holy Night The [C] stars are brightly [G] shin-ing, it is the night of our [D] dear Savior's [G] birth Long lay the world in [C] sin and error [G]pin -[G7] ing, 'til he ap-[Bm]peared and the [F#7] soul felt it's ]Bm] worth The [D7] thrill of hope the [G]weary world re-joic-es, for [D7]yon-der breaks a [G]new & glorious morn [Em] Fall on your [Bm]knees, oh [Am] hear the angel [Em] voices oh [G] ni - [D7] ght di -- [G] vi -[C] ne oh [G] ni - ght when [D7] Christ was [G] born oh [D] ni - [D7] ght di - [G] vi - [Am]ne; oh [G] night oh [D7]night di - [G] vi - ne

• published: 25 Dec 2013
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