{"id":22300,"date":"2022-11-30T11:27:04","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T10:27:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=176420"},"modified":"2022-11-30T12:10:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T11:10:11","slug":"german-christmas-carols-7-of-the-best-festive-songs-from-germany","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/german-christmas-carols-7-of-the-best-festive-songs-from-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"German Christmas carols: 7 of the best festive songs from Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Hannah Nepilova\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 30 November 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

The singing of Christmas carols has long been an extremely popular tradition in Germany, especially since the Protestant Reformation, when the use of songs in worship was encouraged by reformers like Martin Luther. <\/strong>\nMost of today\u2019s best-known German carols date from the 19th century, during which Christmas, and its associated traditions, became increasingly secularised. But there are older examples that have stood the test of time. Here are seven of the best, plucked from the last 1000 years of festive history.<\/p>\n

Best German Christmas carols<\/h2>\n
\u00a0Sei uns willkommen, Herre Christ (\u2018Welcome to us, Lord Christ\u2019)<\/b><\/h3>\n
The earliest surviving Christmas hymn in the German language, \u2018Sei uns willkommen, Herre Christ\u2019\u00a0dates back to approximately the 11th century, and was first documented in a fragment from the city of Aachen. According to chronicles, this Catholic hymn was sung at Midnight Mass from the choir stalls of Aachen Cathedral by the sch\u00f6ffen \u2013 a select group of citizens involved in general government and jurisdiction. It now exists in several modern versions, including three in German and two in Dutch.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>\u00a0<b>\u2018Es ist ein Ros entsprungen\u2019 (\u2018Lo, how a rose e\u2019er blooming\u2019)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>This carol, which first appeared in print in 1599, has lived an eventful life. In 1896 <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/five-essential-works-brahms\/"\">Johannes Brahms<\/a><\/strong> used it as the base for one of his Choral Preludes; in 1921 <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/can-you-whistle-schoenberg\/"\">Arnold Schoenberg<\/a><\/strong> made it the subject of his short fantasy \u2018Weihnachtsmusik\u2019\u00a0 for two violins, cello, piano and harmonium; and in 1933 Hugo Distler borrowed it for his\u00a0oratorio \u2018Die Weihnachtsgeschichte\u2019 (\u2018The Christmas Story\u2019).<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the Nazis also got in on the act, hijacking the carol\u2019s serene melody and excising all references to Jesus\u2019s Jewish origins to promote National Socialist ideology. But the original version prevailed, and remains one of the most famous German carols, most commonly sung to a melody harmonized in 1609 by the German composer Michael Praetorius.<\/p>\n<p>The carol is also known as a <a class=\""standard-card-new__article-title"\" href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/spotless-rose-lyrics\/"\">\u00a0\u2018<strong>A Spotless Rose\u2019<\/strong>, <\/a>which we named one of the <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/25-greatest-christmas-carols-all-time\/"\">greatest Christmas carols ever<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Es\" ist=\"\" ein=\"\" ros=\"\" entsprungen=\"\" the=\"\" gesualdo=\"\" six=\"\" at=\"\" ely=\"\" cathedral=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OAIro_A1CYw?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlightcontent\" editor-content=\"\"> \n<ul>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/french-christmas-songs\/"\"><strong>French Christmas songs: 8 of the best<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/polish-christmas-carols\/"\">Polish Christmas carols: 7 of the best<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/five-best-ancient-christmas-carols\/"\">Five of the best ancient Christmas carols<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/the-best-christmas-classical-music-albums\/"\">The best Christmas classical music albums and recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <h3><b> \u2018Alle Jahre wieder\u2019 (\u2018Every year again\u2019)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>With its simple, upbeat tune, this carol is a popular choice amongst German children, and was in fact published in composer Friedrich Silcher\u2019s\u00a0song cycle \u2018Twelve Children\u2019s Songs from the appendix to Speckter \u2018s fable book of 1842\u2019. The religious text, dating from 1837, is by the German poet, pastor and teacher Wilhelm Hey.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Alle\" jahre=\"\" wieder=\"\" christmas=\"\" song=\"\" translation=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Km931NUiH1c?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3><b>\u2018Kling, Gl\u00f6ckchen\u2019 (\u2018Ring, Little Bell\u2019)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Some say this bouncy 19th century carol was written to an anonymous folk tune. Others claim it was composed in 1884 by Benedikt Widmann. At the moment, though, its best-known representative is the telegenic Russian-born German actor and singer Helene Fischer \u2013 winner of 17 ECHO awards \u2013 whose exuberant version of the carol can be seen below.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Helene\" fischer=\"\" kling=\"\" gl=\"\" klingelingeling=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ebxa7oYNud0?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlightcontent\" editor-content=\"\"> \n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-christmas-musicals\/"\">10 of the best Christmas musicals<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/christmas-songs\/"\">Best Christmas songs of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/ten-best-christmas-jazz-albums\/"\">10 best Christmas jazz albums<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/jazz-christmas-songs\/"\">Christmas jazz songs: 12 of the best<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <h3><b>\u2018O Tannenbaum\u2019 (\u2018O Christmas Tree\u2019)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Although the 16th century Silesian folk-song that inspired this carol is about fir trees, it originally had nothing to do with Christmas: the association between fir trees and Christmas did not develop until the 19th century, when the Leipzig organist, teacher and composer Ernst Ansch\u00fctz added two verses to the original song, celebrating the fir tree for bringing light and hope in the gloom of winter.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/o-christmas-tree-lyrics\/"\">O Tannenbaum\u2019 (\u2018O Christmas Tree\u2019<\/a><\/strong>) is still a Christmas staple, regularly sung in both German and its popular English translation.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""VOCES8:\" o=\"\" tannenbaum=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/12gsCREkIn0?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3><b> \u2018Kommet, ihr Hirten\u2019 (\u2018Come, All Ye Shepherds\u2019)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Although this carol about the Nativity is derived from the Czech carol \u2018Nesem v\u00e1m noviny\u2019 it gained popularity in this 1870 German translation and setting by Karl Riedel, who shortened the original version into three stanzas of five lines each, rhyming in pairs with a short final line. It was later translated into a lesser-known English version by Mari Ruef Hofer.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Kommet\" ihr=\"\" hirten=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Px54OPovPh8?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlightcontent\" editor-content=\"\"> \n<ul>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-christmas-piano-music\/"\"><b>The best Christmas piano music<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/christmas-songs-for-children\/"\"><b>Christmas songs for children: our favourite 10\u2026<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/santa-claus-songs\/"\"><b>Santa Claus songs: our favourite 10 that celebrate Father Christmas<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <h3><b>\u2018Am Weihnachtsbaum, die Lichter brennen\u2019 (\u2018On the Christmas Tree the Lights are On\u2019)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Written in 1841 by Hermann Kletke to an anonymous melody that was already in use in Thuringia and Saxony, the lyrics to this carol reflect the secularisation of Christmas in the 19th century: Jesus\u2019s birth isn\u2019t even mentioned. Instead Kletke\u00a0 focuses on the feeling of festive cheer,\u00a0describing the family gathered around the lit and decorated Christmas tree.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Am\" weihnachtsbaum=\"\" die=\"\" lichter=\"\" brennen=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/brR147QWft8?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlightcontent\" editor-content=\"\"> \n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/christmas-violin-music\/"\">Easy Christmas music for the violin<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/michael-buble-christmas-songs\/"\">Michael Bubl\u00e9\u2019s Christmas songs: 5 of the best for the festive period<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/the-best-christmas-music-programmes-on-bbc-radio-this-year\/"\"><b>The best Christmas music programmes on TV and radio this year<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <p><strong>Find <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/tag\/christmas-carol-lyrics\/"\">lyrics to your favourite Christmas carols here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Photo: <a class=\""external\" text=\"\" href=\""http:\/\/www.cgpgrey.com\/"\" rel=\""nofollow"\">CGP Grey<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Hannah Nepilova Published: Wednesday, 30 November 2022 at 12:00 am The singing of Christmas carols has long been an extremely popular tradition in Germany, especially since the Protestant Reformation, when the use of songs in worship was encouraged by reformers like Martin Luther. Most of today\u2019s best-known German carols date from the 19th century, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":22301,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/german-christmas-carols-7-of-the-best-festive-songs-from-germany.jpg",640,480,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/german-christmas-carols-7-of-the-best-festive-songs-from-germany-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/german-christmas-carols-7-of-the-best-festive-songs-from-germany-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/german-christmas-carols-7-of-the-best-festive-songs-from-germany.jpg",640,480,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/german-christmas-carols-7-of-the-best-festive-songs-from-germany.jpg",640,480,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/german-christmas-carols-7-of-the-best-festive-songs-from-germany.jpg",640,480,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/german-christmas-carols-7-of-the-best-festive-songs-from-germany.jpg",640,480,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Hannah Nepilova Published: Wednesday, 30 November 2022 at 12:00 am The singing of Christmas carols has long been an extremely popular tradition in Germany, especially since the Protestant Reformation, when the use of songs in worship was encouraged by reformers like Martin Luther. Most of today\u2019s best-known German carols date from the 19th century,…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/22300"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}