Birthed as it was on the eve of another revolution, Cappeau and Adam’s song was praised by French poet Alphonse de Lamartine ...

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 ...

For nearly two centuries, this is the Christmas carol that won’t stop singing a subversive song of hope, Meredith says.

Adolphe Adam (1803-1856) was a French composer best known for the ballet Giselle and the Christmas carol O Holy Night. He also wrote many works for the Paris Opera and taught at the Paris Conservatory ...

Already controversial in in France, “Cantique de Noël” made some people uneasy; but in America, the English translation into ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...