Adolphe Adam (1803-1856) was a French composer best known for the ballet Giselle and the Christmas carol O Holy Night. He also wrote many works for the Paris Opera and taught at the Paris Conservatory ...

Already controversial in in France, “Cantique de Noël” made some people uneasy; but in America, the English translation into ...

This is John Sullivan Dwight’s translation from 1855. He was a Unitarian minister and a schoolmaster at the Brook Farm commune who went on to become America’s first influential music critic. That ...

While I can no longer remember who said it and in which class, I recall being taught in seminary that we learn much of our theology from hymn writers. And, at least for me, there is no greater season ...

Twenty-six years ago, George W. Hunt, S.J., then editor in chief of America, wrote that “O Holy Night” was one of his favorites among Yuletide songs, modestly adding: “I’ve sung it countless times in ...