1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,040 Speaker 1: Hey, history fans, if you want a double dose of history, 2 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:06,280 Speaker 1: here's a rerun for today, brought to you by Tracy V. Wilson. 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to this Day in History class from how Stuff 4 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:12,520 Speaker 1: Works dot Com and from the desk of stuff you 5 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: missed in History Class. It's the show where we explore 6 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: the past one day at a time with a quick 7 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 1: look at what happened today in history. Hi, I'm Holly Fry. 8 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,160 Speaker 1: This week I am sitting in for Tracy V. Wilson. 9 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: Today is December and it is the day that Silent 10 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: Night was performed for the first time in eighteen eighteen 11 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 1: still in Knoched, known in English speaking places as Silent Night, 12 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: has of course become a standard at Christmas celebrations. The 13 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:46,319 Speaker 1: song was originally written not as a song but as 14 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: a poem by an assistant priest named Joseph Moore in 15 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: eighteen sixteen. Moore, who was born in Salzburg, was ordained 16 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifteen, and he moved to marry a far 17 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 1: in Lungao in the Austrian Alps the following year. The 18 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: words of student Knacht were written by More at a 19 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: time when the occupation of the area by Bavarian troops 20 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,120 Speaker 1: was ending, which may have contributed to the song's themes 21 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: of salvation and peace. In eighteen eighteen, More moved to 22 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 1: Obendorf by Salzburg, one thirty kilometers northwest of where he 23 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: had been staying on the Austrian border, and he served 24 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: at the Church of St. Nicholas there. And the church 25 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 1: of St. Nicholas had an organist named Franz Gruber who 26 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,559 Speaker 1: worked primarily as a teacher, but he had other side 27 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: jobs in addition to playing music at St. Nicholas, including 28 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 1: as a church caretaker and also as an organist for 29 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:42,120 Speaker 1: another church. More still had this poem that he had 30 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: written while he was living in the Austrian Alps, and 31 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,559 Speaker 1: he had an idea that it could be set to music, 32 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: and he also wanted something that the choir could sing 33 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: with a couple of solo parts, preferably accompanied by guitar, 34 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: and so to accomplish this task, More asked Gruber to 35 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: write music for the poem. He had made this request 36 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: on Christmas Eve of eighteen eighteen, and Gruber was very 37 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: very fast. He had this whole thing turned around the 38 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: very same day, and so later again that same day, 39 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 1: when Gruber showed More the simple composition, as he called it, 40 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: of music that he had come up with to go 41 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,360 Speaker 1: with the words of steele Knocht. More was really pleased 42 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: with it. He thought it was lovely, so much so 43 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:26,679 Speaker 1: that he decided that it should just be part of 44 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 1: the mass that evening. And beyond the fact that the 45 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: performance at the Church of St. Nicholas in eighteen eighteen 46 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: was well received, we really don't know much about it, 47 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: but that was the first time it was performed at 48 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 1: a Christmas Eve Mass, and it continued to be performed 49 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: after that debut, first in the surrounding area in Austria 50 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 1: and then slowly spreading through a progressively wider geographical footprint. 51 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: In just a little more than a decade after the 52 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: poem was first set to song, stele Knocht was being 53 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: performed outside of Austria. From there it traveled with performer 54 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 1: not only across Europe, but beyond Europe. It was sung 55 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:06,919 Speaker 1: by a family singing group called the Rayner Family Singers 56 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: in North America on Christmas Day in eighteen thirty nine, 57 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:15,519 Speaker 1: but as the song gained popularity, its origin was obscured. 58 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: After a number of years, eventually, at the end of 59 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:22,839 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty four, Franz Gruber, who had heard the attribution 60 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:25,959 Speaker 1: had been lost as this song took flight and spread 61 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: around the world, actually wrote down the story of its 62 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: inception in a document which he titled Authentic Account of 63 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: the Origin of the Christmas carol Silent Night, Holy Night. 64 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: At this point, stelen Nacht has been translated into more 65 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: than three hundred languages and dialects. It is on UNESCO's 66 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: Intangible Cultural Heritage List. More than one hundred years after 67 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: steele Nacht was first performed, Bing Crosby recorded the English 68 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: language version Silent Night in ninety five that is reportedly 69 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: the number three all time best selling single. And it 70 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: all started on Christmas Eve eighteen with a song written 71 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: and performed by an assistant priest and a church organist 72 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 1: in Bavaria. If you want to learn a slightly longer 73 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,280 Speaker 1: version of this story, you can get that on Stuff 74 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: You Missed in History Class, which has a new episode 75 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: out called Christmas Triple Feature Steel A Nacht, st Nick 76 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: and Scrooge. Today's episode was researched by Tracy Wilson, who 77 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: deserves thanks. It was handled on the audio end by 78 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: Casey Pegram and Chandler Maze tomorrow, you should hang back 79 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: out with us because they're going to talk a little 80 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: bit about some astronomical fun And if you would like 81 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: to subscribe to This Day in History class, you can 82 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: do that on Apple Podcasts, the I Heart Radio app, 83 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: or wherever you get podcasts.