The Story Behind The Song – O Tannenbaum

The repertoire for “Peace on Earth” transcends cultures and religions towards a common concept of peace and light during the dark seasons of the year.  For example, The Coventry Carol is an old English carol, Happy Xmas was written by John Lennon to end the war, and of course O Tannenbaum is a traditional German carol. After singing O Tannenbaum or the translation O Christmas Tree as a holiday carol for many seasons it might come as a surprise that the common lyrics written by the Leipzig teacher/ organist Ernst Anschütz in 1824 refer to the fir tree not as a decorated Christmas tree but as a symbol of faithfulness.

After all the evergreen qualities of the fir tree are in contrast to the bare looks of most deciduous trees during the winter season. The lyrics lament an unfaithful maiden and refer to the fir tree as a true and faithful companion. Only later as the tradition of the Christmas Tree developed throughout the 19th Century the song became a holiday tradition with added verses referring to the decorated tree.

 

Singing holiday carols was a strong tradition in our family.  My mother was an Elementary School teacher and I was involved in several choirs and instrumental groups in our church community.  Hence when arranging O Tannenbaum I had to find a way to bridge the long-time familiarity with the tune and the jazz tradition of re-creation. My version changes the meter to five with a Glockenspiel ostinato reminding of Christmas bells and the evergreen tree and a free-style piano solo. I enjoy recreating the tune live with the freedom of exploring the virtuoso qualities of the piano while creating the seasonal image as a framework.

Here is the original recording,

The CD Release Live Version

And of course the classic version from the Peanuts Christmas Special

Nat King Cole, The Three Tenors, Andrea Bocelli, and the Vienna Choir Boys