_MUSIC._ GLORIA is a traditional melody of anonymous composition. The tune has been variously harmonized. This version is found in the _St. Basil’s Hymnal_, compiled by the Basilian Fathers, and published in Chicago, 1918 (Revised Ed.). 83. Silent night, holy night _Joseph Mohr_, 1792-1848 The most loved and most widely used of all Christmas carols. It was composed December 24, 1818, by Joseph Mohr, 1792-1848, assistant Catholic priest in an obscure German village, Oberndorf, near Salzburg, Austria. At a Christmas celebration in the schoolhouse Mohr withdrew for a time, then returned with a folded sheet of paper on which this carol was written. He handed it to his friend, Franz Gruber, 1787-1863, schoolmaster, song writer, and organist, as a Christmas gift. Gruber composed the tune for it the same evening. The author and composer sang it together, the latter accompanying on the guitar, and a choir of girls from the village joining in the melody. The hymn and the tune became immensely popular in Germany and Austria even before they appeared in print, through their use by wandering Tyrolese singers. Today the carol is sung in all Christian lands. It was a favorite of the great opera singer Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink, and she sang it on many of her concert appearances. _MUSIC._ STILLE NACHT. In keeping with German custom, the tune is named after the first line of the hymn for which it was written. A plaque in the schoolhouse at Oberndorf bears the following inscription: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht! Wer hat dich, O Lied, gemacht? Mohr hat dich so schoen erdacht, Gruber zu Gehoer gebracht, Priester und Lehrer vereint. 84. O little town of Bethlehem _Phillips Brooks_, 1835-93 This carol was written for children, but it has become popular everywhere with adults as well. Phillips Brooks, one of America’s greatest preachers, grew up in a musical home where memorizing and reciting of hymns was a part of the children’s education. By the time he was ready for college he had committed over 200 hymns to memory. He graduated from Harvard and from the Episcopal Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Virginia, and served as rector at the Church of the Advent, Philadelphia, and at Trinity Church, Boston, where his preaching powers came to full and fruitful fruition. In 1891, he became Bishop of Massachusetts. While in Philadelphia, he was given a year’s leave of absence to travel in Europe and the Near East. In Christmas Week in 1865, he rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The view of the little town is thought to have inspired this hymn which he wrote several years later for the Christmas service of the Sunday school in his church.