Have you ever wondered what the stories were behind the creation of the Christmas Carols sung every year, that have been sung for generations? Where did the ideas for the words (lyrics) and tunes (melodies) come from? What were the circumstances that caused the birth of a song?
One of the most beloved carols “Silent Night” came about because of a need. A church organ quit working before the Christmas service. Can you imagine Christmas without music? What a gift Christmas songs are to us! The solution was to take a poem by Joseph Mohr and have his friend Franz Gruber put it to music, so they could sing it together with the guitar in their Austrian church for the Christmas service on December 24, 1818. Janice Hayen tells “The Story of ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’.”
Sometimes Christmas Carols are created from existing songs. Carol of the Bells, composed in 1916, is from Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovich. His simple 4 note melody became a folk song used as a “well-wishing” song to herald the coming year in his country. Listen to the Ukrainian Carol of the Bells played by concert pianist Jennifer Thomas with full orchestra & choir performing this beautiful song! How it came to the USA is shown in youtube’s The Captivating Story of Carol of the Bells
Now create your own Christmas song. You can begin with either the lyrics or the melody. Keep it simple and start with 4 notes, like Carol of the Bells. Think about your story. What do you want to tell with music and words? Have fun creating a song you can pass on to the next generation!