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COLLEGIATE OF ROQUEMAURE

October 18, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Roquemaure, France

Collegiate of Roquemaure (wikipedia.com)

Collegiate of Roquemaure (wikipedia.com)

France boasts a very old and beautiful heritage of Christmas music, with wonderful carols dating back to the Renaissance. However, no French Christmas carol has quite the fascinating history, or has risen to such heights of fame and popularity worldwide, as the Cantique de Noël, or O Holy Night.  With original lyrics by an anti-clerical socialist and original music by a Jewish composer, this highly unlikely musical collaboraion has become one of the greatest Christmas Carols of all time.

The strange story of O Holy Night began in 1847 in the small town of Roquemaure in Southern France, where a local clergyman asked Placide Cappeau, a wine merchant and poet, to pen an original carol for the Christmas service.  Cappeau, who later became a dedicated socialist and anti-church activist, agreed.  On a visit to Paris, he collaborated with his friend, the Jewish composer Adolphe Adam, and completed the carol just a few weeks before Christmas. O Holy Night was an immediate success, and soon became popularized throughout France.

Roquemaure (voyagesfrance.com)

Roquemaure (voyagesfrance.com)

However, when word of the socialist and Jewish origins of the carol got out, it was condemned by the Catholic Church.  In the end this did not stop the popularity of the carol from spreading.  In 1855, the American music critic John Sullivan Dwight translated the Cantique de Noël into English and introduced it to the New World, where it quickly became one of the most beloved Christmas songs of all time. O Holy Night also had a strange brush with scientific history in 1906, when it became the first song of any sort to be broadcast over the radio airwaves.

The place most closely associated with the Cantique de Noël is the Collegiate of Roquemaure, just north of Avignon, where the carol made its debut on Christmas Eve in 1847. As of this writing, no other visitor information was available for this site.  Placide Cappeau is buried in the town graveyard, while Adolphe Adam is buried in the Montemartre Cemetery in Paris.  Web: www.ot-roquemaure.com (official tourism website of Roquemaure)

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: France

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About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

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Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

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Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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