“Silent night” – accompanied on the guitar played by Joseph Mohr.

SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT

The CD includes pieces composed by Gruber for the Christmas period and the first-ever recording of the 6-verse version: the original 1818 Oberndorf version (Mohr autograph) for two male voices and two-part choir, accompanied on the guitar played by Josef Mohr on that Christmas Eve.

One of the best-known melodies worldwide, it has been called the “song of world peace“. Silent night, holy night is not a folk-song, although it has almost become one. Franz Xaver Gruber (b Hochburg-Ach, Upper Austria, 25 December 1787; d Hallein, 7 June 1863), worked in the Province of Salzburg as a teacher and musician, composing sacred works in a style somewhere between Classical and Romantic. He set to music the heartfelt poem written by Salzburg priest Joseph Mohr (b Salzburg, 11 December 1792; d Wagrain, 4 December 1848). The song was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 in Oberndorf on the River Salzach, and has become legendary.