Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, which is based on the Ukrainian New Year's song "Shchedryk". The music for the carol comes from the song written by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in or before 1916; the English-language lyrics were written in 1936 by American composer of Ukrainian origin Peter Wilhousky. [1] [2]
Although "Carol of the Bells" uses the melody from "Shchedryk", the lyrics of these two songs have nothing in common. The ostinato of the Ukrainian song suggested to Wilhousky the sound of ringing bells, so he wrote lyrics on that theme. Several other lyricists have written for the same melody, usually retaining Wilhousky's bell theme.
Peter Joseph Wilhousky [a] (13 July 1902 – 4 January 1978) was an American composer, music educator, and choral conductor of Rusyn descent. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] During his childhood he was part of the New York Russian Cathedral Boys Choir and gave a performance at the White House to President Woodrow Wilson . [ 4 ]
The American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis wrote the song in 1941. She originally called it “Carol of the Drum” and wrote it under the pseudonym C.R.W. Robertson.
He composed "Shchedryk" in 1914 (premiered in 1916), now known to the English-speaking world as "Carol of the Bells". He was murdered by a Soviet agent in 1921 and is known as a martyr in the Eastern Orthodox Ukrainian Church , where he is also remembered for his liturgy , the first composed in the vernacular, specifically in the modern ...
Eventually the song became a Christmas classic under the name "Carol of the Bells". He moved to New York City in 1922 where he collected liturgical music, arranged and popularized Ukrainian folk music. Koshetz also documented the choir's travels in the memoir With Song, Around the World (З піснею через світ).
"Carol of the Bells/The Bells of Christmas" (Adrienne Anderson, Barry Manilow, Peter J. Wilhousky) - 4:48 "Joy to the World/Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin, Traditional) - 3:46 "We Wish You a Merry Christmas/It's Just Another New Year's Eve" (Barry Manilow, Marty Panzer, Traditional) - 4:47 [2]
The program also included the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” by Peter Wilhousky, an American of Ukrainian origin, who created English lyrics to Leontovych's "Shchedryk" ("Carol of the Bells"). The choir sang Verdi's Va, pensiero (Fly, my thoughts [on wings of gold]) from Nabucco , written when Italian patriots tried to unify their country ...