In the fall of 1847, a French wine merchant, Placide Cappeau, was asked by his local priest to write a Christmas poem. Not long after, Placide Cappeau showed this poem, “Minuit, chrétiens,” to the ...

While I can no longer remember who said it and in which class, I recall being taught in seminary that we learn much of our theology from hymn writers. And, at least for me, there is no greater season ...

Twenty-six years ago, George W. Hunt, S.J., then editor in chief of America, wrote that “O Holy Night” was one of his favorites among Yuletide songs, modestly adding: “I’ve sung it countless times in ...

Caruso, Bjorling, Pavarotti, Carreras, Domingo, Alagna, Kaufmann, Florez and (Eric) Cartman. One of these things is not like the other, ‘tis true, but there is one way in which they are kind of the ...

This is John Sullivan Dwight’s translation from 1855. He was a Unitarian minister and a schoolmaster at the Brook Farm commune who went on to become America’s first influential music critic. That ...

The Tabernacle Choir & Orchestra at Temple Square perform "O Holy Night." The American music critic John Sullivan Dwight translated the lyrics of this carol, one of the most dramatically beautiful ...