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The signature repeating four-note motif of the song by which listeners may recognize it.  Play (help·info)

The Carol of the Bells is a popular Christmas carol. It was composed by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych with English lyrics entirely unrelated to the original ones created later by American composer Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on a folk chant known in Ukrainian as "Shchedryk". Wilhousky's lyrics and the English name are copyrighted, although the original musical composition is not.

The song is recognized by a four-note ostinato motif (see image to the right). The rhythmic pattern is the composite of the two-against-three polyrhythm or cross-rhythm. It has been arranged many times for different genres, styles of singing and settings and has been covered by artists and groups of many genres: classical, metal, jazz, rock, and pop. The piece has also been featured in films, television shows, and parodies.

Background

Origins

Composer Mykola Leontovych

The song is based on a traditional folk chant. It was associated with the coming New Year which, in pre-Christian Ukraine, was originally celebrated with the coming of Spring in April. (This explains the reason why the original Ukrainian text speaks about a swallow returning and lambs being born.)

With 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, and the holiday with which the chant was originally associated became the Feast of Epiphany (also known in Ukrainian as Shchedry vechir). The songs sung for this celebration are known as Schedrivky.

The original Ukrainian text tells the tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the plentiful and bountiful year that the family will have.^[1] The title is derived from the Ukrainian word for "bountiful." The period for the birth of animals and the return of swallows to Ukraine however does not correspond to the current calendar season of winter.

In Ukraine, the chant is currently sung on the eve of the Julian New Year.

Composition and translation

Although the first version of the composition was composed in 1904, it first premiered in December 1916 performed by a student choral group at Kiev University.^{[citation needed]} It was introduced to Western audiences by the Ukrainian National Chorus during its concert tour of Europe and the Americas, where it premiered in the United States on October 5, 1921 at Carnegie Hall. A copyrighted English text was created by Peter Wilhousky in the 1930s, and since then it has been performed and sung worldwide during the Christmas season. Its initial popularity stemmed largely from Wilhousky's ability to perform it to a wide audience in his role as arranger for the NBC Symphony Orchestra, trained especially for Arturo Toscanini.^[2] The song would later be assisted to further popularity by featuring in television advertisements for champagne.^[2] An alternate English version ("Ring, Christmas Bells") featuring more Nativity-based lyrics, written by Minna Louise Hohman in 1947, is also common.^[3]

Musical analysis

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Leontovych originally created the piece as an assignment for a harmony course he was taking by correspondence^{[citation needed]} to demonstrate the use of a four-note known as ostinato. The ostinato motif, a repeated four-note pattern within the range of a minor third, is thought to be of prehistoric origins:^{[citation needed]} a New Year's chant known in Ukrainian as "Shchedryk" [the Generous One].

The original traditional Ukrainian text used a device, known as hemiola, in the rhythm (alternating the accents within each measure from 3/4 to 6/8 and back again). This device however is lost in the English translations and rarely is used in non-Ukrainian or instrumental performances.

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 women's choir (unaccompanied) and another for children's choir with piano accompaniment. These are rarely performed or recorded.

Notable performances

Covers

(Chronological growth in popularity)

• (1946) The Robert Shaw Chorale recorded it that year, and later re-recorded it in stereo. Both the Chorale and the Atlanta Symphony Chorus, which Robert Shaw conducted from 1967 until 1988, and on special occasions until his death in 1999, performed it many times in live concert.
• (1947) The version with Minna Louise Hohman's 1947 lyrics has been recorded by the Ray Conniff Singers, Andy Williams and Julie Andrews with The Treorchy Male Choir, among others.
• (1975) John Fahey, American musicologist, guitarist performed on Tahoma Records' 1975 album Christmas with John Fahey, Volume II' [Tahoma4XF72745]
• (1978) Richard Carpenter played piano in an orchestral version arranged by Peter Knight on the Carpenter's Christmas Portrait album released in October 1978.
• (1980) George Winston played solo piano on his December album/CD in the late 1980s, acknowledging it as a traditional Ukrainian song.
• (1981) Kenny Rogers performed the song on his Christmas album. It was re-released in 1985.
• (1983) David Benoit has recorded a jazz version of the song for his 1983 album Christmastime.
• (1988) Chip Davis and his band Mannheim Steamroller recorded an original arrangement released on their album A Fresh Aire Christmas in 1988. Recording label: American Gramaphone.
• (1993) Canadian musician and composer/songwriter David Foster composed and performed his own version for the NBC Christmas special David Foster's Christmas Album on December 10, 1993 to promote The Christmas Album, both of which featured other Grammy Award winning performers.
• (1994) French pop music icon Charles Aznavour, Norwegian crossover soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø, and Spanish operatic tenor Plácido Domingo recorded "Carol of the Bells" together at the third Christmas in Vienna concert on December 22, 1994.
• (1995) Savatage and side project The Trans-Siberian Orchestra recorded "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo (12/24)" which includes the song.
• (1997) John Tesh charted the song. Billboard Adult Contemporary survey, 1997.
• (2001) Destiny's Child performed a slow-paced version of the song under the name "Opera of the Bells" (2001)
• (2002) Dream Theater have been known to quote the main theme of the song in certain live performances of "The Killing Hand", as can be heard on the "Hollow Years" single, and the Bucharest, Romania 7/4/02 official bootleg.
• (2002) The rock band The Calling recorded a version available on the compilation Holiday 'Sounds of the Season' (2002).
• (2004) At holiday season concerts, the folk-rock group Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams usually performs a version of their song "Slambovia" which is intertwined with the tune of "Carol of the Bells". This version was released on their live "Bootleg Series" album The Christmas Show 2004.
• (2006) Irish singer Moya Brennan recorded a version for her Celtic-themed Christmas album, An Irish Christmas (2006)
• (2007) Jennifer Hudson sang the song on Elmo's Christmas Countdown in December 2007
• In 2007, Emmy Rossum recorded an Extended Play (EP) album of Christmas songs for Geffen Records including an electronically enhanced pop version of the song with the English lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky.
• (2009)Family Force 5's Christmas Pageant album (2009) features a version of this song.
• (2009) Hayley Westenra recorded the song for her album Winter Magic, released in 2009. She did her own voice accompaniments in parts of the song, rather than using a backing choir or other background singers.
• (2010) Jessica Simpson has also recorded a version of the song on her 2010 Christmas album Happy Christmas.
• (2010) Pink Martini recorded a version of "Shchedryk (Carol of the Bells)" for the album Joy to the World (2010)
• (2010) Enter Shikari used the song to open their Christmas Eve show in Hatfield, UK on December 24, 2010. The song was cut off midway through, only to come back in with the band playing a dubstep remix. The recording is found on their Live from Planet Earth DVD/CD set.
• The band August Burns Red has recorded a version of the song and performs it at their Christmas show every year.

Films and parodies

• John Williams included this piece and made his own version of it on the Home Alone soundtrack, along with 18 other entries, that consists of his original score and other Christmas songs. It was released by Sony Music Entertainment in 1990.
• It was used in a skit in the December 12, 1990, episode of Saturday Night Live. Dana Carvey used the lyrics "Leave me alone, just go away".^[4]
• It was featured as the second opening song on The Santa Clause, with choruses in various locations singing it.
• Mr. Mackey from South Park sang a multi-part (overdubbed), a cappella version of the carol in the episode "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics". In Mr. Mackey's version, he inserts his catchphrase by changing "All seem to say/Throw cares away" to "All seem to say/Ding dong m'kay."
• Guster parodied the song on the 2004 single "Carol of the Meows", replacing the lyrics with simulated cat noises.
• "Carol of the Bells" was parodied in two Family Guy episodes: first in "Perfect Castaway", as one of the featured songs on Peter's prospective Christmas album. In the episode "Deep Throats", Peter sings another parody of "Carol of the Bells" about working at Burger King. This second parody was originally recorded by an artist known only as Billy for a 1993 Christmas album, and popularized by a 2002 Flash cartoon.
• The Muppets' 2009 parody of the song climaxes with a large bell (set up by Animal) falling on the increasingly frenetic Beaker.^[5]

References