The story behind o holy night

Song History

The words and lyrics of this old carol 'O Holy Night' were written by PlacideCappeau de Roquemaure in 1847. In Roquemaure at the end of the year 1843, the church organ was recently renovated. To celebrate the event, the parish priest asked Cappeau, native from this town, to write a Christmas poem.

Cappeau was a wine seller he was asked by the parish priest to write a poem for Christmas. Though he was an atheist he was obliged to write the beautiful words of the hymn. He then realized that it should have music to accompany the words and he approached his friend Adolphe Charles Adams(1803-1856). Therefore the music was composed by Adolphe Charles Adams. This marked the beginning of his brilliant career as a composer.

The hymn was translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight (1812-1893).