One of my favorite Christmas carols, “Silent Night,” is 207-years old this year.  It’s also one of the rare years where I’m not programming it for our Christmas Concert at school.  That’s not for any particular reason, and it will surely make a comeback in future years; there are just a lot of great Christmas songs!

That said, I have a soft spot for this piece.  It’s not my all-time favorite Christmas carol, but it’s definitely in the Top 3.  The piece is so rich theologically, but it also musically captures the Peace that passes all understanding—the Peace that comes from the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.

With that, here is 19 December 2024’s “TBT^4: ‘Silent Night’ Turns 200“:

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It’s hard to believe that “Silent Night” is now 206-years old!  While the weary world has changed quite a bit in that time, this Christmas carol remains an eternal classic, and I imagine it will remain that way for another 206 years—and more.

“Silent Night” did make it onto the Christmas Concert program this year, with my Middle School Music Ensemble giving a traditional rendition, followed by a rocked-up version in 4/4 time (just like last year).  It’s hard for me not to program it, as it is one of the most iconic Christmas carols ever penned.

I’ve also played it quite a bit recently, notably at church, but also at a little Christmas show my buddy John and I hosted, our annual “Yulestravaganza.”  The only attendees were the barista, Dr. Girlfriend, and a lonely fellow who sauntered in halfway through the show and drank his coffee in solitude on the far opposite end of the coffee shop.  Regardless, Dr. Girlfriend, John, and I had a rollicking good time.  There is some footage out there from a Facebook livestream that I’ll need to hunt down and figure out how to share here (here are the first and second sets), but we had fun.  I also finished eating a burrito while John sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”—live on stage!

Finally, I did a performance at Tuesday night’s open mic night—my first one in months!—with the wife of a former colleague singing beautiful harmonies.  Sadly, I did not capture it on video—d’oh!—but if I can hunt down footage, I’ll share it here.  It was a good, un-rehearsed performance, but at one point we both slipped into harmonies—ha!

Needless to say, I love this little carol.

With that, here is 21 December 2023’s “TBT^2: ‘Silent Night’ Turns 200“:

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On Tuesday’s edition of Open Mic Adventures I shared my impromptu rendition of “Silent Night“; as such, I figured I’d throwback to this classic post about the timeless Christmas classic for this installment of TBT.

I’ve always loved the sweet, peaceful simplicity of this carol.  It also lends itself to multiple interpretations.  My Middle School Music Ensemble students have done it in 4/4 in a punk rock style.  One year, my High School Music Ensemble played it as a bluesy, Christmas-Eve-at-a-roadside-honkey-tonk jam in 6/8 (but, as I recall, only in practice—that might have been too bold for the sensibilities of my administration).

But the song is best presented as it was 205 years ago:  sung by a small choir on a cold Christmas night.

With that, here is 12 December 2019’s “TBT: ‘Silent Night’ Turns 200“:

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