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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Nobody can put a classic country twist on a Christmas hymn like Martina McBride. McBride recorded a mega-popular version of this song for her 1998 album, 'White Christmas.' The holiday album was so ...

It’s a notorious fact that O Holy Night, the most reverent of Christmas hymns, was created by a man of little piety, who ultimately preferred socialism to Christianity. Or at least that was true of ...

Editor’s Note: Over the four weeks of Advent, alongside the release of season three of “Hark!,” our podcast about the meaning and making of our favorite Christmas carols, America staff will also share ...

In the fall of 1847, a French merchant, Placide Cappeau, was asked by his local priest to write a Christmas poem. Cappeau showed this poem, “Minuit, chrétiens,” to the famed French composer Adolphe ...

In the fall of 1847, a French merchant, Placide Cappeau, was asked by his local priest to write a Christmas poem. Cappeau showed this poem, “Minuit, chrétiens,” to the famed French composer Adolphe ...