"Carol of the Bells" (also known as the
"Ukrainian Bell Carol") is a choral miniature work originally composed by the
UkrainianUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
composer
Mykola Dmytrovych LeontovychMykola Dmytrovych Leontovych was a Ukrainian composer, choral conductor, and teacher of international renown...
. Throughout the composition, Leontovych used a four note motif as an
ostinatoIn music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds. Each note always has the same weight in an ostinato. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody...
which was taken from an ancient pagan
UkrainianUkraine is a multi-ethnic Eastern European state situated north of the Black Sea, previously part of the Soviet Union. Many of its ethnic groups living within Ukraine have their own unique musical traditions and some have developed specific musical traditions in association with the land in which...
New Year's chant known in Ukrainian as "
ShchedrykShchedryk is a Ukrainian shchedrivka, or New Year's carol. It was arranged by composer and school teacher Mykola Leontovych in 1916, and tells a story of a swallow flying into a household to sing of wealth that will come with the following spring...
". The original work was intended to be sung
a cappellaA cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato style...
. Three variants of the composition were created by the composer.
"The Carol of The Bells" was premiered in December 1916 by a choral group made up of students at
Kiev UniversityKiev University or officially the National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv is the university located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It was founded in 1834 as the University of Saint Vladimir, and since then it has changed its name several times...
.
"Carol of the Bells" (also known as the
"Ukrainian Bell Carol") is a choral miniature work originally composed by the
UkrainianUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
composer
Mykola Dmytrovych LeontovychMykola Dmytrovych Leontovych was a Ukrainian composer, choral conductor, and teacher of international renown...
. Throughout the composition, Leontovych used a four note motif as an
ostinatoIn music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds. Each note always has the same weight in an ostinato. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody...
which was taken from an ancient pagan
UkrainianUkraine is a multi-ethnic Eastern European state situated north of the Black Sea, previously part of the Soviet Union. Many of its ethnic groups living within Ukraine have their own unique musical traditions and some have developed specific musical traditions in association with the land in which...
New Year's chant known in Ukrainian as "
ShchedrykShchedryk is a Ukrainian shchedrivka, or New Year's carol. It was arranged by composer and school teacher Mykola Leontovych in 1916, and tells a story of a swallow flying into a household to sing of wealth that will come with the following spring...
". The original work was intended to be sung
a cappellaA cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato style...
. Three variants of the composition were created by the composer.
"The Carol of The Bells" was premiered in December 1916 by a choral group made up of students at
Kiev UniversityKiev University or officially the National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv is the university located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It was founded in 1834 as the University of Saint Vladimir, and since then it has changed its name several times...
. It was introduced to Western audiences by the Ukrainian National Chorus during its concert tour of
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
and the Americas, where it premiered in the United States on October 5, 1921 at
Carnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
. It was later adapted into English language version by
Peter WilhouskyPeter J. Wilhousky was a popular Ukrainian-Carpatho-Rusyn-American composer, educator, and choral director. He was featured on several broadcasts of classical music with Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra, including the historic 1947 broadcast of Verdi's opera Otello. He wrote the...
in the 1930s. An alternate English version (
"Ring, Christmas Bells") with more explicitly
Nativity-The birth of Jesus:* Nativity of Jesus, the Gospel story of the birth of Jesus* Nativity of Jesus in art, paintings depicting the Nativity* Nativity of Jesus in later culture, plays, opera, films, and so on** The Nativity Story, a 2006 film...
-based lyrics, written by Minna Louise Hohman in 1947, is also widely performed.
Origins and translation
The song is based on a traditional folk chant whose language was thought to have magical properties, because of the manner in which it manipulated the number 3. The original traditional Ukrainian text used a device, known as
hemiolaIn modern musical parlance, a hemiola is a metrical pattern in which two bars in simple triple time are articulated as if they were three bars in simple duple time ....
, in the rhythm (alternating the accents within each measure from 3/4 to 6/8 and back again). This device is lost in the English translations and rarely is used in non-Ukrainian performances. The ostinato motif, a repeated four-note pattern within the range of a minor third is thought to be of prehistoric origins. It was associated with the coming New Year which, in pre-Christian Ukraine, was originally celebrated in April.
With the introduction of
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
to
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
, the celebration of the New Year was moved from April to January, and the holiday the chant originally was associated with became the Feast of Epiphany (also known in Ukrainian as
Shchedry vechir). The songs sung for this celebration are known as
SchedrivkyShchedryk is a Ukrainian shchedrivka, or New Year's carol. It was arranged by composer and school teacher Mykola Leontovych in 1916, and tells a story of a swallow flying into a household to sing of wealth that will come with the following spring...
.
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. 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 carol is currently sung on the eve of the Julian New Year (January 13).
The four-note theme over a minor 3rd of the chant was used by Ukrainian composer
Mykola LeontovychMykola Dmytrovych Leontovych was a Ukrainian composer, choral conductor, and teacher of international renown...
as an ostinato throughout the piece. Three different arrangements done by the composer exist of the piece, one with piano accompaniment, a version for children's choir. The most used version is the variant for mixed chorus. The arrangement for mixed voice choir
a cappellaA cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato style...
was popularized by the
Ukrainian Republic CapellaThe Ukrainian Republic Capella was a musical company during and after World War I which toured Europe and North America with the intent to promote Ukrainian culture abroad. The main sponsor of the Capella was Symon Petlura.-Background:During the First World War, many events shook Eastern Europe...
, directed by
Oleksander KoshetzOleksander Koshetz was a Ukrainian choral conductor, arranger, composer, ethnographer, writer, musicologist, and lecturer. He helped popularize Ukrainian music around the world...
, when it toured the West after 1920.
The English language lyrics were written in 1936 by
Peter WilhouskyPeter J. Wilhousky was a popular Ukrainian-Carpatho-Rusyn-American composer, educator, and choral director. He was featured on several broadcasts of classical music with Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra, including the historic 1947 broadcast of Verdi's opera Otello. He wrote the...
of
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
Radio. The song reminded Wilhousky of beautiful ringing bells, and he captured that imagery in his lyrics.
Notable performances
- Richard Carpenter
Richard Carpenter may refer to:* Richard Carpenter , American musician and composer, formerly one half of the Carpenters* Richard Carpenter , British screenwriter...
played piano in an orchestral version arranged by Peter KnightPeter Knight is a folk musician, member of the electric folk group Steeleye Span.Peter Knight was born in London on 27 May 1947. As a child he learned the violin and mandolin before going to the Royal Academy of Music from 1960 to 1964. The recordings of the Irish fiddler Michael Coleman inspired...
on the Carpenters Christmas PortraitChristmas Portrait is the first Christmas album recorded by The Carpenters , originally released on October 13, 1978 ....
album released in October 1978.
- Chip Davis
Louis F. "Chip" Davis, Jr. is the founder and leader of the music group Mannheim Steamroller.He also wrote the music for C.W. McCall, including the 1975 hit "Convoy".-Biography:...
and his band Mannheim SteamrollerMannheim Steamroller is a music group founded by Chip Davis, and co-founded by Jackson Berkey, known primarily for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.-Beginnings:...
recorded an original arrangement released on their album A Fresh Aire ChristmasA Fresh Aire Christmas was the second Christmas album released by new age musical group Mannheim Steamroller. The album was originally released in 1988.-Track listing:#"Hark! The Herald Trumpets Sing"#"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"...
in 1988. Recording label: American GramaphoneAmerican Gramaphone is an American record company, and was formed in 1974 by Chip Davis. It is best-known for releasing Davis' solo and Mannheim Steamroller albums...
.
- George Winston
George Winston is an American pianist who was born in Michigan, and grew up mainly in Eastern Montana as well as Mississippi and Florida. He attended Stetson University in Deland, Florida and lives in Santa Cruz, California. When growing up his interest in music was listening to instrumentals in...
played solo piano on his December album/CD in the late 1980s, acknowledging it as a traditional Ukranian song.
- Canadian musician and composer/songwriter David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter and arranger.-Career:Foster was a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark, whose song “Wildflower” was a top ten hit in 1972...
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.
- Savatage
Savatage is an American progressive metal band founded by the brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1978 at Astro Skate in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band has been inactive since the release of their last album in 2001, and have not performed live together since 2002, instead concentrating on the more...
and side project The Trans-Siberian OrchestraTrans-Siberian Orchestra is a rock orchestra founded in 1996 by Paul O'Neill, who immediately approached long time friends Jon Oliva, Robert Kinkel, and Al Pitrelli. The band's musical style incorporates progressive rock, symphonic metal, and heavy metal, with influences from classical music...
have a done a popular remake entitled "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo (12/24)" that plays on many radio stations around Christmas.
- French
France , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
pop musicPop music is a music genre that developed from the mid-1950s as a softer alternative to rock 'n' roll and later to rock music. It has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs...
icon Charles AznavourCharles Aznavour, OC is an Armenian-French singer, songwriter, actor, public activist and diplomat. Besides being one of France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the most well-known singers in the world...
, NorwegianNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
crossover sopranoA soprano is a singing voice with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music...
Sissel KyrkjebøSissel Kyrkjebø , also simply known as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano. She is best known for singing the Olympic Hymn at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, for duets with Plácido Domingo, Charles Aznavour, José Carreras, Neil Sedaka, Warren...
, and SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
operaticOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Plácido DomingoJosé Plácido Domingo Embil , better known as Plácido Domingo, is a Spanish tenor, known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range. In March 2008, he debuted in his 128th opera role, giving Domingo more roles than any other tenor...
recorded Carol of the Bells together at the third Christmas in Vienna concertChristmas in Vienna III is a 1995 Christmas album released by Spanish operatic tenor Plácido Domingo, French chanson and pop music star Charles Aznavour, and Norwegian crossover soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø on the Sony Classical label.It was recorded on December 22, 1994 at the Alte Winterreitschule in...
on December 22, 1994.
- The version with Minna Louise Hohman's 1947 lyrics has been recorded by the Ray Conniff Singers
The Ray Conniff Singers were a vocal group established 1959 by composer-arranger-bandleader Ray Conniff...
, Andy WilliamsHoward Andrew "Andy" or "Paul" Williams is an American pop singer. Andy Williams has recorded 18 gold and three platinum certified albums. When Ronald Reagan was president, he declared Andy's voice to be "a national treasure". He had his own popular TV variety show from 1962–71...
and Julie AndrewsDame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is a British film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honours...
with The Treorchy Male ChoirTreorchy Male Voice Choir is a choir based in Treorchy in the Rhondda Valley, Wales, United Kingdom.Choirs have existed in the Rhondda Valley for more than a hundred and fifty years and Treorchy is one of the best known from the area...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubi9QAMNS5U, among others.
- At holiday season concerts, the folk-rock group Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams
Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams is a Hudson Valley New York based band, which was founded in Sleepy Hollow in 1998. The band's music is a form of Folk rock and is sometimes described as "Hillbilly Pink Floyd," or "Punk Classical Hillbilly Floyd." Their latest album, The Great...
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 2004The Christmas Show 2004 is a live recording of Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams' December 17, 2004 Holiday show at the Towne Crier Cafe in Pawling, New York. This is a Bootleg Series album, which means that it is generally only sold at live shows, and only during the Holiday season...
.
- Irish singer Moya Brennan
Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin , better known as Máire Brennan or Moya Brennan , is a Grammy Award-nominated Celtic folksinger, songwriter, harpist and philanthropist...
recorded a version for her Celtic-themed Christmas album, An Irish ChristmasAn Irish Christmas is a music album by Irish musician Moya Brennan, now known as Moya Brennan. ‘An Irish Christmas’ charts a different course, reviewing the Christmas story through a blend of new tracks and left field favourites...
- The song is featured on X-mas In Hell By Sixx:A.M.
Sixx:A.M. is a hard rock band formed in 2007 by Nikki Sixx, DJ Ashba, and James Michael. It is the side-project of Mötley Crüe bass guitarist Nikki Sixx. The group is best known for their song "Life Is Beautiful".Sixx:A.M...
on the album "The Heroin Diaries."
- The song has also been played as an instrumental
Rock Instrumentals have a separate page.An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. This term is used when referring to popular music rather than to other musical genres such as European...
by the ProgressiveProgressive metal is a fusion genre: a mixture of progressive rock and heavy metal. Progressive metal blends the powerful, guitar-driven sound of metal with the complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing of progressive rock...
MetalcoreMetalcore is a fusion genre incorporating elements of hardcore punk and extreme metal. The name is a portmanteau of hardcore punk and heavy metal. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands like Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity. The earliest of these groups,...
band August Burns RedAugust Burns Red is an American Metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The band formed in March 2003 while some of the members were still in high school, and soon began playing shows around Lancaster...
, which was originally recorded for the X ChristmasX Christmas is a holiday compilation album, featuring artists mostly affiliated with Tooth & Nail or its imprint labels, BEC Recordings and SolidState Records performing their own renditions of Christmas carols, as well as original songs about Christmas....
compilation, but was re-released on their b-sides EPAn extended play is a vinyl record, CD, or music download which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as an LP. Usually, a CD single has around 10–28 minutes of music, an EP has up to 36 minutes, and an album generally has 30–80 minutes. Mini-LPs generally contain 20–30...
Lost Messengers: The OuttakesLost Messengers: The Outtakes is August Burns Red's third EP, which was released on February 24, 2009, featuring B-sides and demos from their previous album, Messengers.-Track listing:#"Chasing the Dragon" - 4:21...
.
- Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman is a musical ensemble comprising five Irish female artists: vocalists Chloë Agnew, Lynn Hilary, Lisa Kelly, Alex Sharpe and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt. The group's repertoire ranges from traditional Celtic tunes to modern songs...
performed this song live at the Helix Center in Dublin, Ireland for a Christmas celebration.
- John Tesh
John Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop and contemporary Christian music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. Besides playing keyboards , he plays the trumpet and sings, and has sold over 7 million records...
charted the song. Billboard Adult Contemporary survey, 1997.
- John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career that spans six decades, Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in Hollywood history, including Star Wars, Superman, Home Alone, the first three Harry Potter movies and all but two of Steven...
included this piece and made his own version of it. It is on the Home AloneHome Alone is a 1990 Christmas film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. The film features Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy who is mistakenly left behind when his family flies to Paris for their Christmas vacation. While initially relishing...
soundtrack, along with other 18 entries, that consists of his original score and other Christmas songs. It was released by Sony Music Entertainment in 1990.
- Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson is an American recording artist, actress and model. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of the Fox reality television series American Idol...
sang the song on Elmo's Christmas CountdownElmo's Christmas Countdown is an hour-long Sesame Street Christmas special that first aired on December 23, 2007 on ABC. It is the third time the Sesame Street characters have crossed over into commercial television ; the show has aired on PBS, a public television network, since its inception...
in December 2007
Parodies
- The song is the basis of an infamous internet meme
The term Internet meme is a phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet, much like an esoteric inside joke...
popularly known as "Ding Fries are Done," in which a Burger KingBurger King , often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The first restaurant was opened in Miami, Florida in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton, and has since used several...
employee uses the tune to sing a song about how he works at Burger KingBurger King , often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The first restaurant was opened in Miami, Florida in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton, and has since used several...
, makes French friesFrench fries , fries, or french-fried potatoes are thin strips of deep-fried potato...
and wears paper hats. This parody was recreated in the Family GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television sitcom, created by Seth MacFarlane, for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family which consists of Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Stewie, and their pet dog Brian...
episode "Deep Throats"Deep Throats" is the twenty-third episode of season four of the television series Family Guy. It was written by Alex Borstein and directed by Greg Colton. Appalled at parking charges introduced by Mayor West, Brian decides to expose the corruption of the Mayor, despite the prospect of potentially...
" during a cutaway scene in which Peter GriffinPeter Löwenbräu Griffin is a fictional character, and the protagonist of the FOX animated comedy series Family Guy. Peter is the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is married to Lois, and is the father of Meg, Chris, and Stewie...
takes the role of the Burger King employee.
- "Carol of the Bells" was also parodied in another Family Guy episode, "Perfect Castaway," as one of the featured songs on Peter's prospective Christmas album.
- Mr. Mackey from South Park
South Park is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become infamous for its crude, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
sang a multi-part (overdubbed), a cappellaA cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato style...
version of the carol in the episode "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics"Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" is episode 46 of Comedy Central's animated television series South Park. An album of comedic holiday songs, some featured in the episode, and others exclusive to the album, or featured in other episodes, was released the week prior to the episode's original air...
." In Mr. Mackey's version, he inserts his catch phraseA catch phrase is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through a variety of mass media , as well as word of mouth...
by changing "All seem to say/Throw cares away" to "All seem to say/Ding dong m'kay."
- Guster
Guster is an American alternative rock band that is known for its live performances, humor, and cult following. It was formed by Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel in 1991 while attending Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts....
parodied the song on the 2004 single "Carol of the MeowsCarol of the Meows is a Guster single that is a parody of the Christmas song "Carol of the Bells". It was featured on The O.C. episode "The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn't". The song itself is "Carol of the Bells" sung a cappella, with every note being sung to the word "meow."...
," replacing the lyrics with simulated cat noises.
External links