It was Christmas Eve in the Austrian Alps. At the newly
constructed Church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, a Tyrol village near Salzburg , Father Joseph
Mohr prepared for the midnight service. He was distraught because the church
organ was broken, ruining prospects for that evening’s carefully planned music.
But Father Joseph was about to learn that our problems are God’s opportunities,
that the LORD causes all things to work together for good to those who love
Him. It came into Father Joseph’s mind to write a new song, one that could be
sung without the organ. Hastily, he wrote the words, “Silent night, holy night,
all is calm, all is bright…” Taking the text to his organist Franz Gruber, he
explained the situation and asked Franz to compose a simple tune.
That night, December 24, 1818, “Silent Night” was sung for
the first time as a duet accompanied by a guitar at the aptly named Church of St. Nicholas
Shortly afterward, as Karl Mauracher came to repair the
organ, he heard about the near-disaster on Christmas Eve. Acquiring a copy of
the text and tune, he spread the hymn throughout the Alpine region of Austria ,
referring to it as “Trioler Volkslied.”
The song came to the attention of the Strasser family,
makers of chamois-skin gloves. To drum up business at various fairs and
festivals, the four Strasser children would sing in front of their parents’
booth. Like the Von Trapp children a century later, they became popular folk
singers throughout the Alps .
When the children- Caroline, Joseph, Andreas, and Amalie-
began singing “Trioler Volkslied” at their performances, audiences were
charmed. It seemed perfect for the snow-clad region and perfect for the
Christian heart. “Silent Night” even came to the attention of the king and
queen, and the Strasser children were asked to give a royal performance,
assuring the carol’s fame.
“Silent Night” was first published for the congregational singing
in 1838 in the German hymnbook Katholisches
Gesang- und Gebetbuch fur den offentlichen and hauslichen Gottesdienst zunachst
zum Gebrauche der katholischen Gereinden im Konigreiche Sachsen. It was
used in America
by German-speaking congregations, then appeared in its current English form in
a book of Sunday school songs in 1863.
Were in not for a broken organ, there never would have been
a “Silent Night.”
From “Come Let Us Adore Him” by Robert J. Morgan
