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Article: Battle cries raised over Silent Night A challenge to the long-accepted story of its creation one Christmas Eve long ago has outraged those who make a living by it
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- December 24, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2000 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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TONIGHT YOU will almost certainly be hearing it and you will
probably be singing it. Silent Night remains Britain's best-loved
carol. But the town where this celebration of heavenly peace was
first sung on Christmas Eve 182 years ago is at war, and the casus
belli is the carol itself.
The brief, official history of the composition goes like this.
Mice had gnawed through the church organ of Oberndorf, just outside
Salzburg, the day before the Holy Mass. To salvage Christmas Eve
celebrations, two friends hurriedly composed a carol for vocals and
guitar. In a matter of hours, they had created their popular
masterpiece.
Since that night in 1818, the melody has cast a spell of goodwill
across ...