An ardent abolitionist, Dwight strongly identified with the lines of the third verse: "Truly he taught us to love one another his law is love and his gospel is peace.
Not only did this American writer-John Sullivan Dwight-feel that this wonderful Christmas songs needed to be introduced to America, he saw something else in the song that moved him beyond the story of the birth of Christ. The heads of the French Catholic church of the time deemed "Cantique de Noel" as unfit for church services because of its lack of musical taste and "total absence of the spirit of religion." Yet even as the church tried to bury the Christmas song, the French people continued to sing it, and a decade later a reclusive American writer brought it to a whole new audience halfway around the world. But when Placide Cappeau walked away from the church and became a part of the socialist movement, and church leaders discovered that Adolphe Adams was a Jew, the song-which had quickly grown to be one of the most beloved Christmas songs in France-was suddenly and uniformly denounced by the church. Initially, "Cantique de Noel" was wholeheartedly accepted by the church in France and the song quickly found its way into various Catholic Christmas services. The song was performed just three weeks later at a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Adams' finished work pleased both poet and priest. Nevertheless, Adams quickly went to work, attempting to marry an original score to Cappeau's beautiful words.
Petersburg.Īs a man of Jewish ancestry, for Adolphe the words of "Cantique de Noel" represented a day he didn't celebrate and a man he did not view as the son of God. Yet the lyrics that his friend Cappeau gave him must have challenged the composer in a fashion unlike anything he received from London, Berlin, or St. His talent and fame brought requests to write works for orchestras and ballets all over the world. The son of a well-known classical musician, Adolphe had studied in the Paris conservatoire. Not musically inclined himself, the poet turned to one of his friends, Adolphe Charles Adams, for help. Moved by his own work, Cappeau decided that his "Cantique de Noel" was not just a poem, but a song in need of a master musician's hand. By the time he arrived in Paris, "Cantique de Noel" had been completed. Thoughts of being present on the blessed night inspired him.
Using the gospel of Luke as his guide, Cappeau imagined witnessing the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. In a dusty coach traveling down a bumpy road to France's capital city, Placide Cappeau considered the priest's request. Nevertheless, the poet was honored to share his talents with the church. Known more for his poetry than his church attendance, it probably shocked Placide when his parish priest asked the commissionaire to pen a poem for Christmas mass. In 1847, Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure was the commissionaire of wines in a small French town. This seemingly simple song, inspired by a request from a clergyman, would not only become one of the most beloved anthems of all time, it would mark a technological revolution that would forever change the way people were introduced to music. The strange and fascinating story of "O Holy Night" began in France, yet eventually made its way around the world. Reprinted from "Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas" with permission of Zondervan.
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