Carol of the Bells

Background

Origins

Main article: Shchedryk (song)

The conductor of the Ukrainian Republic Capella, Oleksander Koshyts, commissioned the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych to create a song based on traditional Ukrainian folk music. The resulting choral composition, "Shchedryk, was based on a four-note motif Leontovych found in the Ukrainian anthology.

The original Ukrainian folk story related to the song was associated with the coming New Year that, prior to the introduction of Christianity, likely was celebrated in Ukraine in February or March, with the arrival of swallows, or with the spring equinox, in association with the coming of spring in April. The original Ukrainian title translates to "the generous one", or is perhaps derived from the Ukrainian word for bountiful (uk), and tells a tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the bountiful year that the family will have.

After the introduction of Christianity to Ukraine and the adoption of the Julian calendar the celebration of the new year was moved from April to January. The holiday with which the chant was originally associated became Malanka (, uk), the eve of the Julian new year (the night of 13-14 January in the Gregorian calendar). The songs sung for this celebration are known as uk.

Leontovych wrote the tune for the song while he was living and working in Pokrovsk (Eastern Ukraine) between 1904 and 1908. It was first performed by the Ukrainian students at Kyiv University in December 1916. It was introduced to Western audiences by the Ukrainian National Chorus during its 1919 concert tour of Europe. The tour was organized as a way to generate support for the fledgling independent nation of Ukraine, which had declared its independence, but which the Bolshevik government in Moscow refused to recognize.

The song premiered in the United States on October 5, 1922, to a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall and the American audience fell in love with the Ukrainian song. : Cited by The original work was intended to be sung a cappella by mixed four-voice choir.

Two other settings of the composition were also created by Leontovych: one for the women's choir (unaccompanied), and another for the children's choir with piano accompaniment. These two are rarely performed or recorded.

English lyrics versions

In 1936, Wilhousky rearranged the melody for the orchestra with new lyrics for NBC radio network's symphony orchestra, centred around the theme of bells because the melody reminded him of handbells, which begins "Hark! How the bells". It was first aired during the Great Depression. Wilhousky secured copyright to the new lyrics and the published song, despite the song having been published almost two decades earlier in the Ukrainian National Republic. Broad popularity of the song stemmed largely from Wilhousky's ability to reach a wide audience in his role as arranger for the NBC Symphony Orchestra. His adaptation is now strongly associated with Christmas because of his new lyrics that reference bells and caroling, and his line "merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas".

"Ring, Christmas Bells", an English-language variant featuring nativity-based lyrics, was written by Minna Louise Hohman in 1947. Two other versions exist by anonymous writers: one from 1957 entitled "Come Dance and Sing" and one from 1972 that begins "Hark to the bells".

American recordings by various artists began to surface on the radio in the 1940s. The song gained further popularity when an instrumental was featured in television advertisements for André champagne in the 1970s. "Carol of the Bells" has been recorded in more than 150 versions and re-arrangements for varying vocal and instrumental compositions.

Notable recordings

This is not a list of everyone who has ever recorded the song. That list would contain thousands of entries, and would be completely useless. Only recordings that are notable by themselves should be listed here. Notable is that the song has charted or been featured in some important way. A link to nothing more than a track listing does not qualify as notable.

• 1963: Carol of the Bells in an orchestral version, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, and New York Philharmonic Orchestra: on the LP The Joy of Christmas, also featuring The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, directed by Richard P. Condie, recorded in Salt Lake City, September 3, 1963.
• 2016: Voctave performed this song a capella for their album "The Spirit of the Season". It was paired with Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken's Christmas edition of "The Bells of Notre Dame", a musical number from Disney's 1996 animated blockbuster The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
• 2021: In their 2021-2022 album, The War to End All Wars, the Swedish metal band Sabaton included a segment from Carol Of The Bells in the intro and outro segment of their song single "Christmas Truce".
• 2022: Composer Andrea Vanzo released a solo piano variation on the theme of "Carol of the Bells", as the debut single from his EP “Little Christmas Variations”.

In popular culture

It is INAPPROPRIATE to add television or radio advertisements to this list. This song is used in thousands of non-notable ads all over the world. Just because a notable company uses it in an ad, doesn't mean that the ad is therefore notable here. If you really think one is notable, discuss it on the talk page first.

• The song appears in the 1990 film Home Alone as arranged by John Williams. In 2018, this version charted at No. 20 on the Swedish Heatseeker chart.
• The Muppets' 2009 parody of the song, climaxing with a large bell (set up by Animal) falling on the increasingly frenetic Beaker, quickly became a viral video that Christmas season.

Charts

Pentatonix version

John Williams version

Mantikor version

Certifications

Pentatonix version

John Williams version

References

References

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