Musical Versions
It was not until 1872 that the poem is known to have been set to music. The English organist, John Baptiste Calkin, used the poem in a processional accompanied with a melody he previously used as early as 1848. The Calkin version of the carol was long the standard. Elvis Presley, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, MercyMe, Steven Curtis Chapman, Johnny Cash, and Jimmie Rodgers have recorded this version. Less commonly, the poem has also been set to the 1845 composition "Mainzer" by Joseph Mainzer.
Johnny Marks, known for his song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", set Longfellow’s poem to music in the 1950s. Marks' version has been recorded by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, Ed Ames, Kate Smith, Frank Sinatra, Sarah McLachlan, Pedro the Lion, Harry Belafonte, The Carpenters, Rockapella, and Bing Crosby. Marks' composition is now commonly used for modern recordings of the carol, though Calkin's version is still heard as well.
In 1990, John Gorka recorded his arrangement entitled "Christmas Bells", which uses stanzas 1, 2, 6, and 7 of the poem.
Bryan Duncan recorded "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" on his album Christmas is Jesus (Myrrh Records).
In 2000, the vocal group Rockapella began their album Christmas with an arrangement of the classic carol edition.
In 2002, Greg Gilpin set the words to the tune "Waly, Waly", an American Folk Song, in a sheet-music arrangement that is interesting because of its use of handbells to illustrate the words. It omitted the last verse.
In 2004, Pedro the Lion recorded a version for the Maybe this Christmas compilation.
In 2005, Christopher Williams recorded a version on his album Unbroken Song (Big Red Van Music).
In 2005, MercyMe included a version of the song on their Christmas album The Christmas Sessions.
In 2006, Bette Midler recorded the song for her album Cool Yule.
In 2007, CCM artists, Jars of Clay included a version of the song on their Christmas Songs album.
In 2008, Mark Hall, lead vocalist of Casting Crowns, recorded his own arrangement, which was released on their Christmas album, Peace On Earth.
In 2011, Richard Marx recorded his version of the song for his The Christmas EP album and later released it on his Christmas Spirit album.
In 2012, The Civil Wars recorded their version of the song for a collaborative Christmas album entitled Holidays Rule.
Read more about this topic: I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
Famous quotes containing the words musical and/or versions:
“Fifty million Frenchmen can’t be wrong.”
—Anonymous. Popular saying.
Dating from World War I—when it was used by U.S. soldiers—or before, the saying was associated with nightclub hostess Texas Quinan in the 1920s. It was the title of a song recorded by Sophie Tucker in 1927, and of a Cole Porter musical in 1929.
“The assumption must be that those who can see value only in tradition, or versions of it, deny man’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances.”
—Stephen Bayley (b. 1951)