O Holy Night for Clarinet Quintet

In the year 1843 in a small town in the south of France, a local poet by the name of Placide Cappeau wrote a poem entitled "Minuit, chrétiens" (Midnight, Christians). Later the same year, French composer Adolphe Adam composed the music to accompany the poem. The lyrics reflect on the birth of Christ and the redemption of the world. The French version of the song is known as "Cantique de Noël." The English version we are familiar with today, "O Holy Night," was translated by John Sullivan Dwight in 1855.