Franz Xaver Gruber
Franz Xaver Gruber wrote the melody of Silent Night, the Christmas carol first heard at midnight Mass in 1818. Later arrangements for organ and orchestra, with other carols and masses of his, remain in print and in Austrian church use.
The original setting was for two voices and guitar, the choir answering the last lines of each verse. Gruber went on to score the carol for organ and for organ with orchestra. Beyond that single famous tune he left a body of sacred music written for parish use: carols and masses that stayed in local circulation long after Silent Night travelled the world. On Christmas programmes the melody still sits easily among traditional and modern carols, whether in choir, piano or intimate chamber colours.
Compositions by Franz Xaver Gruber appear on
Christmas Around the Piano
Tony Gould offers reflective improvised solo-piano versions of familiar Christmas songs and carols. Played without hurry and coloured by personal memory, each tune is treated as living music rather than seasonal decoration alone.
The 12 Days of Christmas
The Choir of Ormond College sings carols long held in affection around the world, and pairs them with newer works, accompanied by renowned Australian pianist Stephen McIntyre.
Mandolin Christmas
Christmas songs for mandolin orchestra. Arguably Australia’s most acclaimed mandolinist, Kurt Jensen leads an international programme of sparkling carols, from mediaeval favourites to modern classics.
Looking to the Light: Songs of Christmas
Looking to the Light is an easy-listening Christmas collection of favourites such as O Holy Night, The Little Drummer Boy, Ave Maria and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, with Australian carols, lesser-known songs and children's numbers including All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth and I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.
Christmas Joy and a Ceremony of Carols
The Melbourne Academy Boys Choir, directed by Andrew Blackburn, offers a Christmas programme of familiar carols and distinctive concert works by Kodály, Grüber, Britten and others.