"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, which is based on the Ukrainian New Years celebration song "Shchedryk". The music for the carol comes from the song written and arranged by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych between 1901 and 1916. English-language lyrics were written in 1936 by the American composer Peter Wilhousky.[1][2]
The music is based on a four-note ostinato and is in 3 4 time signature, with the B-flat bell pealing in 6 8 time. The carol is metrically bistable[3] (which means it is characterized by hemiola, or two different alternating meters), with a listener being able to focus on either meter or switch between them. It has been adapted for musical genres that include classical, heavy metal, jazz, country music, rock, trap, and pop. The music has been featured in films and television shows.
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.[5] The original Ukrainian title translates to "the generous one",[6] or is perhaps derived from the Ukrainian word for bountiful (shchedryj),[4] 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 (Ukrainian: Щедрий вечір, Shchedry vechir), 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 Shchedrivky.[7]
Leontovych wrote the tune for the song while he was living and working in Pokrovsk (Eastern Ukraine) between 1904 and 1908.[8] It was first performed by the Ukrainian students at Kyiv University in December 1916.[9] 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.[10][11]
The song premiered in the United States on October 5, 1922,[12] to a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall and the American audience fell in love with the Ukrainian song.[4] The original work was intended to be sung a cappella by mixed four-voice choir.[9]
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.[according to whom?]
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,[9] which begins "Hark! How the bells".[13] It was first aired during the Great Depression.[9] 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.[4] 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".[4]
"Ring, Christmas Bells", an English-language variant featuring nativity-based lyrics, was written by Minna Louise Hohman in 1947.[14] 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".[13]
American recordings by various artists began to surface on the radio in the 1940s.[4] 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.[15]
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.
1982: George Winston arranged and recorded a version of the carol for his solo piano album "December", which went on to sell over 3 million copies.[19]
1988: Mannheim Steamroller recorded a prog-rock version on their second Christmas studio album A Fresh Aire Christmas, which has sold over 6 million copies in the U.S., making it one of the best-selling Christmas albums of all time.[20]
1993: David Foster wrote a rendition for his album The Christmas Album. On Billboard's Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 chart, which measured chart data 1958–2016, Foster's take on "Carol of the Bells" charted at number 77.[22]
2002: California Guitar Trio recorded a unique version where all instrumentation, voices, and bells were represented by guitars on their 2002 album, A Christmas Album.[24]
2007: Shawn Lee featured this song on his A Very Ping Pong Christmas: Funky Treats from Santa's Bag album.[27] This version was used as a part of the soundtrack for the video game Bully: Scholarship Edition, in 2008.
2012: Metal band August Burns Red's "breakdown-infused" version of the song was used in a Christmas-themed promotional ad for Frank Miller's film The Spirit, although the song did not appear in the film.[29]
2012: Pentatonix covered the song on their album PTXmas, one of the highest selling Christmas albums of 2013.[30]
2013: Marillion released an extended version for charity.[31]
2017: Lena Meyer-Landrut released her version on the official album to the television show Sing meinen Song – Das Weihnachtskonzert, Vol. 4.[33]
2021: Mantikor[de] released a German metal & rock version on the official Rookies & Friends, Vol. 3 XMAS Edition Compilation.[34]
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”.
The Muppets' 2009 parody of the song, climaxing with a large bell (set up by Animal) falling on the increasingly frenetic Beaker,[37] quickly became a viral video that Christmas season.[38]
12Crump, William D. (2013). "Carol of the Bells" in The Christmas Encyclopedia. 3rd Edition. McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers: Jefferson, NC. p. 62. ISBN9780786468270.
↑Nobbman, Dale V. (2000). Christmas Music Companion Fact Book: The Chronological History of Our Most Well-Known Traditional Christmas Hymns, Carols, Songs And the Writers & Composers Who Created Them. Centerstream Publishing: Anaheim Hills, CA. p. 91. ISBN1574240676.
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