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"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Ukranian 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 1914; the English-language lyrics were written in 1936 by Peter Wilhousky.[1][2]
| "Carol of the Bells" | |
|---|---|
| Christmas carol by Mykola Leontovych | |
 The four-note motif (shown four times) | |
| Text | by Peter J. Wilhousky |
| Based on | "Shchedryk" |
| Composed | 1919 |
The music is based on a four-note ostinato and is in 3
4 time signature, with the B-flat bell pealing in 6
8 time. The carol is metrically bistable, and a listener can focus on either measure or switch between them. It has been adapted for musical genres that include classical, heavy metal, jazz, country music, rock, trap, and pop. The music has featured in films and television shows.
Origins
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2013) |
The conductor of the Ukrainian Republic Capella, Oleksander Koshyts commissioned Ukrainian composer Leontovych to create the song based on traditional Ukrainian folk songs/chants, and the resulting new work for choir, "Shchedryk", was based on four notes Leontovych found in the Ukrainian anthology.[3]
The original Ukrainian folk story related to the song was associated with the coming New Year, which, in pre-Christian Ukraine, was celebrated with the coming of spring in April. The original Ukrainian title translates to "the generous one"[4] or is perhaps derived from the Ukrainian word for bountiful (shchedryj),[3] and tells a tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the bountiful year that the family will have.[5]
With the introduction of Christianity to Ukraine and the adoption of the Julian calendar, the celebration of the New Year was moved from April to January, and the holiday with which the chant was originally associated became Malanka (Ukrainian: Щедрий вечір, Shchedry vechir), the eve of the Julian New Year (the night of January 13–14 in the Gregorian calendar). The songs sung for this celebration are known as Shchedrivky.[6]
The song was first performed by the Ukrainian students at Kyiv University in December 1916.[5] It was introduced to Western audiences by the Ukrainian National Chorus during its 1919 concert tour of Europe. The tour was organized as a way to generate support for the fledgling independent nation of Ukraine, which had declared its independence, but which the Bolshevik government in Moscow refused to recognize.[7][8]
The song premiered in the United States on October 5, 1922,[9] to a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall and the American audience fell in love with the Ukrainian song.[3] The original work was intended to be sung a cappella by mixed four-voice choir.[5]
Two other settings of the composition were also created by Leontovych: One for the women's choir (unaccompanied) and another for the children's choir with piano accompaniment. These are rarely performed or recorded.
English lyrics versions
Wilhousky rearranged the melody for the orchestra with new lyrics for NBC radio network's symphony orchestra, centred around the theme of bells because the melody reminded him of handbells,[5] which begins "Hark! How the bells".[10] It was first aired during the Great Depression,[5] and Wilhousky secured copyright to the new lyrics in 1936 and also published the song, despite the song having been published almost two decades earlier in the Ukrainian National Republic.[3] Its initial popularity stemmed largely from Wilhousky's ability to reach a wide audience in his role as arranger for the NBC Symphony Orchestra. It is now strongly associated with Christmas because of its new lyrics, which reference bells, caroling, and the line "merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas".[3]
"Ring, Christmas Bells", an English-language variant featuring nativity-based lyrics, was written by Minna Louise Hohman in 1947.[11] Two other versions exist by anonymous writers: one from 1957 titled "Come Dance and Sing" and one from 1972 that begins "Hark to the bells".[10]
American recordings by various artists began to surface on the radio in the 1940s.[3] The song gained further popularity when an instrumental was featured in television advertisements for Andre champagne in the 1970s. "Carol of the Bells" has been recorded in over 150 versions and re-arrangements for varying vocal and instrumental compositions.[12]
- 1962: The Ray Conniff album We Wish You a Merry Christmas included the "Ring Christmas Bells" version by Minna Louise Hohman.[13][14][15]
- 1988: Mannheim Steamroller recorded a prog-rock version on their second Christmas studio album A Fresh Aire Christmas, which has sold over 6 million copies in the U.S., making it one of the best-selling Christmas albums of all time.[16]
- 1990: Wynton Marsalis recorded a syncopated version on the album Crescent City Christmas Card with the role of the bells carried by brass.[17]
- 1990: Composer John Williams conducted a version for the Home Alone: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Williams' "Carol of the Bells" charted at number 86 on Billboard's Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 chart, which measured chart data 1958–2016.[18]
- 1993: David Foster wrote a rendition for his album The Christmas Album. On Billboard's Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 chart, which measured chart data 1958–2016, Foster's take on "Carol of the Bells" charted at number 77.[18]
- 1995: Savatage recorded "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24", an instrumental, heavy-metal medley of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and "Carol of the Bells". The song became the No. 1 requested song on the influential New York station WPLJ, which led to the band gaining label support to form Trans-Siberian Orchestra and create a new album based on the song.[19]
- 2005: Nox Arcana performed this song on their album Winter's Knight that reached No. 8 on the Billboard Charts the following year.[20]
- 2007: The Bird and the Bee released this song on a non-album single.[21]
- 2007: Shawn Lee featured this song on his A Very Ping Pong Christmas: Funky Treats from Santa's Bag album.[22] This version was used as a part of the soundtrack for the video game Bully: Scholarship Edition, in 2008.
- 2011: The Piano Guys published a cello arrangement of the song on YouTube, and it has garnered over 30 million views. A mashup arrangement of the song with "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" was featured on their Christmas album A Family Christmas, which charted at No. 20 of US Billboard 200.[23]
- 2012: Metal band August Burns Red's "breakdown-infused" version of the song was used in a Christmas-themed promotional ad for Frank Miller's film The Spirit, although the song did not appear in the film.[24]
- 2012: Pentatonix covered the song on their album PTXmas, one of the highest selling Christmas albums of 2013.[25]
- 2013: Marillion released an extended version for charity.[26]
- 2013: Christopher Drake used the song as the Joker's main theme in Arkham Origins.
- 2016: Voctave performed this song a capella for their album "The Spirit of the Season". It was paired with Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken's Christmas edition of "The Bells of Notre Dame", a musical number from Disney's 1996 animated blockbuster The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
- 2017: Lindsey Stirling released her version on her holiday album Warmer in the Winter.[27]
- 2017: Lena Meyer-Landrut released her version on the official album to the television show Sing meinen Song – Das Weihnachtskonzert, Vol. 4.[28]
- 2021: Mantikor released a German metal & rock version on the official Rookies & Friends, Vol. 3 XMAS Edition Compilation.[29]
- 2021: In their 2021-2022 album, The War to End All Wars, the Swedish metal band Sabaton included a segment from Carol Of The Bells in the intro and outro segment of their song single "Christmas Truce".
- One segment of the 1987 television special A Claymation Christmas Celebration features anthropomorphic church bells playing the song by striking themselves with hammers.
- The song appears in the 1990 film Home Alone as arranged by John Williams.[30] In 2018, this version charted at No. 20 on the Swedish Heatseeker chart.[31]
- The Muppets' 2009 parody of the song climaxes with a large bell (set up by Animal) falling on the increasingly frenetic Beaker,[32] which quickly became a viral video that Christmas season.[33]
- The song is used as opening theme in the TV horror series NOS4A2 running 2019-2020.
- Featured in the Doctor Who episodes "The Church on Ruby Road", "The Devil's Chord", "The Legend of Ruby Sunday", and "Empire of Death".[34][35]
- A rearranged version of the instrumental theme features in a bonus level succeeding the level "Queen of B o a r D", aboard the episode "Home Cooked Levels", in Jazz Jackrabbit 2: The Secret Files.
Pentatonix version
| Chart (2013–2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[36] | 66 |
John Williams version
| Chart (2017–2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[37] | 61 |
| Germany (GfK)[38] | 100 |
| Global 200 (Billboard)[39] | 93 |
| Greece International (IFPI)[40] | 47 |
| Hungary (Single Top 40)[41] | 12 |
| Hungary (Stream Top 40)[42] | 16 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[43] | 46 |
| Lithuania (AGATA)[44] | 85 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[45] | 95 |
| Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[46] | 62 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[47] | 20 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[48] | 66 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[49] | 49 |
| US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[50] | 47 |
Mantikor version
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| DE Deutsche Compilationcharts[51] | 3 |
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