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Article: Omahan's ancestor wrote 'Silent Night' in 2 hours.
- Article from:
- Omaha World-Herald (Omaha, NE)
- Article date:
- December 24, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Omaha World-Herald. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Ashley Hassebroek
Dec. 24--The story of "Silent Night" starts on Christmas Eve 1818 in Oberndorf, Austria.
Omahan Dan Gruber, 50, has been told this tale all his life.
Hours before Christmas Eve Mass was scheduled to start at St. Nikolaus Church, the organ broke. Frantic, the priest at the church, Josef Mohr, looked to church organist Franz Gruber for help.
"I need some special music for tonight's Christmas Eve service," Mohr told him.
With a guitar and some lyrics written by Mohr months before, Franz Gruber got to work. In less than two hours, he created the melody for "Silent Night." They immediately rehearsed the ...