Silent Night
Silent Night is – to me – the most beautiful carol, especially the music.
I learned a lot about the history at Stille Nacht.info (available in 9 languages).
The choir I was a member of for almost 30 years (urgh – that makes me sound old!) used to sing at the midnight service on Christmas Eve and of course Silent Night was one of the songs we sang.
Visualize the scene… The church – a medieval cathedral, slate stone floor, hugh round pillars, each one surrounded halfway up by hundreds and hundreds of little candles. After listening to the minister reading the bible story of the birth of Jesus Christ, the lights dimmed even more, up to the point where the church was only lit by the candles…
Our conductor would take his place and always give us a soft smile, saying without words: “You know what’s coming and let’s make this a beautiful performance”. Then slowly, with a minimum of movement, his hands would give us the sign to start…
Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht.
Davids Zoon, lang verwacht,
die miljoenen eens zaligen zal
werd geboren in Bethlehems stal.
Hij, der schepselen Heer
Hij, der schepselen Heer.
After singing the second verse, the conductor always paused for a split second, before bringing his right pointing finger to his lips and softly, ever so softly we started to sing again…
Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht,
Heil en vree wordt gebracht,
aan een wereld, verloren in schuld.
Gods belofte wordt heerlijk vervuld.
Amen! Gode zij eer
Amen! Gode zij eer.
During the third verse the volume would get louder until we reached the last two lines – translated from Dutch: Amen! Honour to God – which were sung really loud, rejoicing.
It’s hard to explain, it’s a case of “you should have been there”, but that last verse always gave me goose bumps.
And now it’s Christmas Eve. No longer a choir member, but I will be attending the midnight service, anxiously awaiting ‘Silent Night’.
Whether you believe in a higher power or not, I want to wish you a blessed Christmas, surrounded by the people you love, friends, family. A peaceful Christmas… and I’m hoping for (maybe, just maybe) a White Christmas.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Merry Christmas! Thanks for sharing with us this Season was fun…Happy New Year!!!
Ah Silent Night/! My all time favorite song! sung just right can and usually does bring tears to my eyes, even after almost 50 years. May the season remind us all for the reason we celebrate. KSM
Hey Antoinette,
I know what you mean !! I stood there singing at midnight on the 24th. I’m a member of a choir at the moment and it was my first Christmas service, so I was a bit nervous. Everything went well and we sang some beautiful songs I hope your Christmas was great
I have been offline during the two days, as I focused on family ; )
Have a great weekend and have a great ending of the old year and beginning of the new one. Have fun !!!
Hi dutchie 🙂
I would like to take this time to wish you and the lovely girls a Happy New Year.
With love,
Lu