Silent Night

"Stille Nacht" and "Silent Night, Holy Night" redirect here. For the 1995 film, see Stille Nacht (film). For the 1976 film, see Silent Night, Holy Night (film).
This article is about the Christmas carol. For other uses, see Silent Night (disambiguation).

Stille Nacht
Silent Night
Christmas carol
Autograph (c. 1860) of the carol by Franz Gruber
Native nameStille Nacht, heilige Nacht
Full titleSilent Night, Holy Night
TextJoseph Mohr
LanguageGerman
MelodyFranz Xaver Gruber
Performed24 December 1818 (1818-12-24)
Published1833 (1833)

"Silent Night" (German: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht") is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria.[1] It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011.[2] The song was first recorded in 1905[3] and has remained a popular success, appearing in films and multiple successful recordings, as well as being quoted in other musical compositions. It is the world's most recorded Christmas song, with more than 137,000 known recordings.[4]

  1. ^ Daley, Jason (17 December 2018). "It's the Bicentennial of 'Silent Night': The classic Christmas tune was first composed as a poem, and it was set to music for the first time in the winter of 1818". Smithsonian. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Österreichische UNESCO-Kommission – Nationalagentur für das Immaterielle Kulturerbe – Austrian Inventory". Archived from the original on 18 December 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  3. ^ Berg, Marita (15 December 2013). "Silent Night". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  4. ^ Malone, Chris (5 December 2017). "Christmas Classics From Mariah Carey & Wham! Among Most-Recorded Holiday Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2023.