This song has been a favorite of mine since childhood, long before I paid attention to the meaning of the words. I believe that “Minuit Chrétiens” was the third song we learned in our elementary school French class, right after “Frère Jacques” and “Meunier, Tu Dors.”
In 1844 a parish priest asked the poet Placide Cappeau (1808-1877) for a poem about Christmas, and “Minuit Chrétiens” was the result. The French composer Adolphe Adam (1803-1856), known for his operas Le Toreador and Si J’etais Roi, and for his ballets Giselle and Le Corsaire, set Cappeau’s poem to music in 1847.
John Sullivan Dwight (1813-1893) studied to be a Unitarian minister at Harvard, but then chose music as a vocation; he taught music and later served as the editor of Dwight’s Journal of Music. He translated the carol from the French in 1855, changing the tone of the carol from a focus on Jesus establishing salvation to a focus on a holy night of peace.
Cappeau’s original French:
1. Minuit, Chrétiens, c’est l’heure solennelle,
Où l’Homme Dieu descendit jusqu’à nous
Pour effacer la tache originelle
Et de Son Père arrêter le courroux.
Le monde entier tressaille d’espérance
En cette nuit qui lui donne un Sauveur.
Peuple à genoux, attends ta délivrance!
Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur,
Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur!
2. De notre foi que la lumière ardente
Nous guide tous au berceau de l’enfant,
Comme autrefois, une étoile brillante
Y conduisit les chefs de l’Orient
Le Roi des Rois naît dans une humble crèche:
Puissants du jour fiers de votre grandeur,
A votre orgueil c’est de là qu’un Dieu prêche,
Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur!
Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur!
3. Le Rédempteur a brisé toute entrave,
La terre est libre et le ciel est ouvert.
Il voit un frère où n’était qu’un esclave.
L’amour unit ceux qu’enchaînait le fer.
Qui lui dira notre reconnaissance?
C’est pour nous tous qu’il naît,
qu’il souffre et meurt:
Peuple, debout! chante ta délivrance,
Noël! Noël! chantons le Rédempteur!
Noël! Noël! chantons le Rédempteur!
Literal translation:
1. Midnight, Christians. It is the solemn hour
When as Man God descended to us
To cleanse the stain of original sin,
And to end the wrath of his Father.
The whole world thrills with hope
On this night that gives it a Savior.
Kneel down, people! See your deliverance!
Christmas, Christmas: here is the Redeemer!
Christmas, Christmas: here is the Redeemer!
2. May the ardent light of our faith
Guide us all to the infant’s cradle,
As in ancient days a brilliant star
Led the oriental rulers there.
The king of kings born in a humble crib:
You mighty rulers of today, proud of your greatness,
It is from there that God preaches to your pride.
Bow your faces before the Redeemer!
Bow your faces before the Redeemer!
3. The Redeemer has broken every obstacle,
The earth is free, and heaven is open.
He sees a brother where there was only a slave.
Love unites those whom the iron had chained.
Who will tell him of our gratitude?
It is for us all that he was born,
that he suffered and died.
Stand up, people! Sing of your deliverance!
Christmas! Christmas! Let us sing of the Redeemer!
Christmas! Christmas! Let us sing of the Redeemer!
Dwight’s version:
1. O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope; the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
2. Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger:
In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need – to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your king; before him lowly bend!
Behold your king; before him lowly bend!
3. Truly He taught us to love one another.
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise his name forever!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!
Dwight’s English version recognizes that it’s a holy night when Christ was born, but the fullness of what Christ does is rather muted. Especially in the first stanza, the French is much stronger: we sing of Jesus as God, overcoming original sin and turning aside the wrath of the Father against sinners.
Here’s an Enrico Caruso recording
from more than 100 years ago, in 1916.
james-ayers.com 