Christmas is coming soon. For centuries, carols — festive songs and hymns — have been a longstanding tradition to mark the holiday season and Carol of the Bells is one of the most famous. However, not many know the song’s actual origin.
Carol of the Bells was written and arranged by an American composer Peter Wilhousky in 1936, and it was first performed in the United States at Carnegie Hall in October 1922.
However, it was inspired by the Ukrainian song Shchedryk, composed by Mykola Leontovych.
Originally, it was not a Christmas song. It started as an old Ukrainian folk song associated with the arrival of swallows. The lyrics recount a swallow admiring a family’s fruitful estate, assuring them of future abundance and prosperity.
The name of the song is associated with the word “shchedryi”, which, in Ukrainian, means generosity, fertility, life-giving.
The song’s true origin
In 1908, Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych was forced to leave his post as a singing teacher for his participation in riots during the Russian Revolution of 1905.
Eventually, he settled in the town of Tulchyn in Vinnytsia Oblast, where he continued to teach and started composing choral works inspired by Ukrainian folk songs, including Shchedryk.
Leontovych started working on the hymn in 1910 and undertook several folklore expeditions. On 29th December 1916, it was first played in Kyiv.
Despite significant restrictions on the Ukrainian language due to Russian imperialist policies, Leontovych wrote the lyrics in Ukrainian. For that, the song became a symbol of Ukrainian national identity, pride, resistance and resilience, especially in the face of the Soviet Union.
An act of resistance
In 1917, the Russian Empire collapsed following a revolution, and Ukrainians decided to fight for their independence to establish their own state.
However, the Russian imperialists, the White Guards and the Bolsheviks, with backing from Western militaries, were denying Ukraine’s self-determinism and wanted to keep them under Russian control.
Ahead of the crucial Paris Peace Conference, where the Allied nations of World War I would gather to create a post-war world order, Symon Petluira, the head of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, was determined to persuade European politicians to support their independence.
Inspired by a performance of Shchedryk, he decided to familiarise the world with Ukraine by promoting its rich cultural heritage and created what is now known as the Ukrainian National Chorus (UNC). He dispatched them across Europe, a symbol of Ukrainian identity designed to gain international recognition.
However, Ukraine was denied its independence, and the leaders of the Entente partitioned Ukrainian land among the neighbouring states.
On 23 January 1921, Mykola Leontochych was shot and killed by an agent of the Russian Cheka.
The birth of a carol
Although the choir failed to convince the world of their right to independence, their impact is directly responsible for the rendition most know today.
In late 1922, a choral crew took the UNC show to North America and performed Shchedryk at Carnegie Hall. Among the audience was Peter Wilhousky, a choral director of Ukrainian descent, who was inspired by the bell-like melody. Instead of swallows, Wilhousky focused on the ringing heard in the song.
His version of Shchedryk debuted on American radio in 1936. It was later published under Carl Fischer Music as Carol of the Bells, the iteration that is still sung at Christmas till this day.
What happened to Shchedryk?
Shchedryk continues to exist. Even today, Ukranians consider it as their hymn against imperialism and the erasure of their culture.
At this crucial time, when the destiny of Ukraine is being decided on the international arena, it is more important than ever to remember that Ukranians have the right to exist in their own independent state.
Friends of Bylines Network
There has never been a greater need for grassroots journalism that investigates the stories that really matter, holds power to account and champions the voices of everyday citizens. We are proudly powered by volunteers but what we do isn’t free.
STAND WITH US for independent, citizen-led journalism that makes democracy stronger, and you will even get some exclusive benefits.
