"This remarkable true story of hope and brotherhood is a unique witness of the power of peace on earth."
—Walter Cronkite
Press Release
Thousands of young men died every day in the trenches of WWI as Christmas approached. And then came the remarkable "Christmas Truce" when soldiers on both sides rose from their trenches and greeted each other in "No Man's Land," a field littered with barbed wire and frozen corpses.
For two days, the guns of war were silent as men who had shot at each other only hours before, after defying officers, laid down their weapons to exchange gifts and traditions. This story is told in Silent Night, Holy Night: The Story of the Christmas Truce, a new book with CD, narrated by Walter Cronkite, accompanied by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. The Silent Night, Holy Night book, CD, VHS and DVD are available in bookstores, online, and at www.mormontabernaclechoir.org.
The common bond of Christmas was shared in a spontaneous celebration that culminated in the singing of the beloved carol "Silent Night" in many languages. Other carols were sung and soccer was even played in No Man's Land.
Cronkite narrates this true story of amazing brotherhood, in the midst of war, and is accompanied by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. The narration is followed by the Choir's singing of "Silent Night, Holy Night."
A highlight of the performance in 2002 came when Cronkite conducted the Choir in the "Hallelujah Chorus." The entire concert and the narration of "The Christmas Truce" are captured on DVD and VHS.
Silent Night, Holy Night: The Story of the Christmas Truce, $15.95, hardcover, Shadow Mountain Publishing, is available in bookstores or online and at mormontabernaclechoir.org. VHS ($15.95) and DVD ($16.95) of the entire Silent Night, Holy Night Christmas Concert is available online or at mormontabernaclechoir.org.
Walter Cronkite Interview Transcript Excerpts
"[Conducting the Mormon Tabernacle Choir] was one of the great experiences of my life, and I think I can claim a lot of experiences. At this advanced age, with the great luck I’ve had in my assignments over 60 years of journalism, it’s perhaps the greatest emotional experience I’ve had.
"Radio was very new when the choir first went on the air in 1929, quite new. We forget how late it came along really. We think that it was there forever, simply because it was one or two generations ago. But my father had a little crystal set with his earphones and he listened to the choir and he would pass the earphones to my mother. I was still a very small tyke at the time, but he insisted I listen a bit to it and I must say I was impressed, probably not intellectually, but it sounded good to me.
"I think that this choir, undoubtedly, has an importance greater than entertaining or even momentarily uplifting an audience present for the broadcast or the concert in this magnificent hall in which it appears. It has a lasting influence on America. It maintains and upholds a standard of ecclesiastical music—and other music as well—in a way that is needed today. Many of our standards, in a lot of aspects of our daily lives, have been lowered, I’d say, by current practice. This orchestra has held on to its standards and as such will have an influence far into the future. Its recordings, its films will have a very important place in the future of America.
"I think that people don’t listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir just for the music but for the actual inspiration that it transmits through that magic of music. I’m quite convinced that it is so popular because people are getting more out of it than they would out a simple musical concert. They might not admit it, but by gosh, that music has an importance to them and it touches them and the consequences make a very big difference in their life."
Contact us:
Gail Halladay
Director of Marketing Communications
Shadow Mountain
801-517-3223
gail.halladay@shadowmountain.com
MaryAnn Jones
Publicist
Shadow Mountain
801-517-3295
mjones@shadowmountain.com
