O Holy Night - Adolphe Adam.

This is a busy time of year for musicians, but I wanted to find time to make a Christmas-themed post. I am often asked what my favorite Christmas song is, and it is difficult to choose. I love the whole Charlie Brown Christmas album, but when pushed for a favorite I feel inclined to go back further.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is an easy pick for me; it has great chords (especially for jazz musicians), a good form and its dynamics, from the beginning to the climax, almost play themselves. It would be my bronze medal choice.

I have a soft spot for Silent Night. It is so simple, so serene, and yet so evocative. When I hear, or sing it, I feel as though I'm in the 19th century, watching snow fall by candlelight. Silent Night is my silver medal choice.

I think my gold (and I admit that my choice could change depending on the day) is O Holy Night. Done well, it gave me goosebumps when I was ten, and gives me goosebumps now.

A little history on the piece: it was written by French composer Adolphe Adam to the poem Minuit, chrétiens by Placide Cappeau. The song was supposedly written in 1847, but the earliest score I could find (from the Library of Congress) is dated 1871. It appears to be a score by Adam himself - or at least a faithful reproduction. The score is stamped "1ST.COPY." and says "Only Correct Edition." over the title, so I believe it to be as close to the original source material as we can get.

One point that interested me about the piece was finding out what the original key was. It seems that even in the 19th century it was transposed to a variety of keys, presumably to accommodate different singing ranges. Because it covers over an octave and a half, the piece really needs to sit in the sweet spot for whomever is singing it. I found versions in C, D, A and Eb published before the turn of the century. Most versions were in Eb. The original score said that there were versions in Eb for sopranos and tenors, and in C for altos and baritones. (I'm not sure many altos and baritones would be excited about the high G near the end)

Looking over the score, it is surprising that the chords have gone largely untouched over the last century and a half. Some modern interpretations might reharmonize it a little, but the original chords are pretty much as you know them today. The melody, on the other hand, has a has seen some variation over the decades. For one thing, while the accompaniment is all triplets - basically in 12/8 - the melody contains no triplets.

In many modern versions the song is just written in 12/8, with the melody in triplets as most people sing it. Also, it seems that Adam was a fan of melodic variation, as can be seen in the score above. Each verse in the original scores is a little different, but most are close to the melody as we know it today. I was surprised to see many of the common modern variations and embellishments in the earliest scores.

Why it's Great

Now on to what I like about this song. The number one reason is intangible; like many carols, it evokes early childhood memories of Christmastime. I'm sure we had this song playing in the background every year during the holidays, as I hung stockings and decorated the tree with my family. It has a calm, stirring warmth to it that I can't explain.

From a theory standpoint, there are a lot of curiosities that make the song stand out. The use of a melody that is in straight 4/4 over an accompaniment that is in 12/8, while common in the Romantic era, is unusual in popular music. Also, the dynamic range is quite large, with Adam's score jumping from pp to ff at the "Fall on your knees" section.

Then there is the issue of form. This song can mess with a lot of singers because, like me, they tend to hear the first line ("O Holy Night") as the downbeat. In actuality this phrase is a pickup. That means that, between stanzas and verses, the singer must wait a measure and a half before coming in, though the impulse will be to start on the downbeat.

It also means that the first two stanzas are 5 measures long. I enjoy that such an unusual length flows so naturally. The full form is: 1 (one measure intro), 5 (verse stanza 1), 5 (verse stanza 2), 4 (pre-chorus), 8 (chorus), 4 (chorus tag). That's definitely unique.

I also like the slinky way the verse moves from Eb to Gm by turning the I chord into an augmented sixth chord in Gm. (curiously, Adam, a Frenchman, used the German augmented sixth, not the French!):

Last, what really sells the song is the climactic "Fall on your knees" section that builds to the high note. It is a great vocal showpiece and I especially like how the high note is first "mi", then the very high (Bb) "sol" is at the end. The way it carries into the following measure is beautiful. As "mi" it becomes the 9 in a 9-1 suspension over the ii6 chord. Then as "sol" it becomes the 4 in a 4-3 suspension. I would argue that the former is actually prettier, as it creates the sound of an unexpected IV chord with a 7-6 suspension. As I mentioned in my Ode to Joy post, there's just something about the IV chord.

I'm not sure that I would want this to be the only Christmas song I listen to for the rest of my days. If I had to pick just one, it would probably be Silent Night. But when I'm in the right mood, nothing beats O Holy Night. Because of its popularity, the song has been covered by countless artists. If I have time before Christmas, I'll review a handful of them.