Carnegie Hall

When the Ukrainian National Chorus took the Carnegie Hall stage for the first time in 1922, they did so with gusto, debuting an ambitious 35-piece program that paired Russian composers like Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov with stirring Ukrainian folk songs and contemporary compositions. Chroniclers of the time responded passionately to the group’s colorfully embroidered attire, technical excellence, and frequent employment of closed-mouth singing.

Few in the crowd could have known that they had observed the origin of one of the most famous Christmas songs in the world: “Carol of the Bells.” Tucked in the first half of the program was the American premiere of the future hit, then performed as Mykola Leontovych’s arrangement of the Ukrainian folk song “Shchedryk.”

Less than two decades later in 1936, the song took on a festive trajectory with new lyrics and a new title from choral director and New York public school administrator Peter Wilhousky. Now, 100 years after its Carnegie Hall debut, “Carol of the Bells” is a mainstay of the holiday season, sung by choirs, streamed on commercials, and broadcast time and time again on radio stations across the country.

Choral Cultural Ambassadors

As World War I came to an end, Ukraine began a fight for independence, one of several countries hoping for greater autonomy in the changing global landscape. Soviet Russia was not eager to recognize Ukraine’s declaration of sovereignty. By 1919, the nation launched a full-scale military invasion over Ukraine, occupying much of the country’s east and taking over the capital city of Kyiv.

As his country’s hopes of self-rule burned out, Symon Petliura—Ukraine’s leader at the time—had the idea of forming a choir. A former art critic, theater reviewer, and columnist himself, Petliura recognized that while Ukraine was overpowered militarily, it could still garner recognition as a country with a unique history and cultural traditions. He named Ukrainian conductor Oleksandr Koshyts to lead the ensemble, and in about a week, the maestro selected an ensemble of a few dozen men and women who would set off for a multi-year tour—first across Europe and then to the Americas. Among the pieces selected for the newly created ensemble was Leontovych’s arrangement of “Shchedryk,” which the composer had been working on for about a decade.

The choir performed more than 200 times across Europe in the following years, singing for political, academic, and religious officials, as well as eager concertgoers. Koshyts’s strategy of musical diplomacy won the country some hard-earned recognition; in many venues, concertgoers led chants of “long live Ukraine!” More than 500 reviews emerged in 10 different languages about the long series of performances, with many leaders sending letters of support for the aspiring country’s cultural and political independence.

But the cultural wins didn’t translate to military ones. By the end of 1921, the Ukrainian National Republic fell to Soviet attacks. The windfall was quick. That year—just months before the Ukrainian National Choir’s Carnegie Hall debut—a member of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission killed Leontovych, whose music was declared irrelevant for the Soviet reality.

A Carnegie Hall Premiere

While Ukrainian hopes of independence seemed bleak, the choir battled on. A year after Koshyts’s death, the Ukrainian National Choir sang “Carol of the Bells” for the first time to an American audience on October 5, 1922. The New-York Tribune called the performance, “a marvel of technical skill,” while the New York Herald and The New York Times said the choir sang “impressively” and “bewitchingly,” respectively.

Though Leontovych’s arrangement went unremarked upon by these New York reviewers, it made a mark on Peter Wilhousky, who—according to legend—attended the concert that night. Years later, the choir director of Ukrainian descent born in Passaic, New Jersey wrote his own lyrics to the tune, embracing what he believed to be a bell-like motif.

In 1936, Wilhousky added the song to the repertoire of his school’s choir. After he premiered it with the NBC Symphony, he published his new version with Carl Fischer Music, spurring repeat performances across the country.

An Enduring Christmastime Classic

Today during the Christmas season, “Carol of the Bells” remains inescapable—the soundtrack to myriad Christmas light shows, movie soundtracks, and holiday concerts. In Carnegie Hall itself, the piece has been performed 70 times since its 1922 debut.

The latest Russian invasion of Ukraine, beginning last February, sparked global support for the Ukrainian people. It also renewed the kind of cultural diplomacy that took over Carnegie Hall 100 years before. In May 2022, the Hall’s Concert for Ukraine featured the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York alongside appearances by artists who included Evgeny Kissin, Itzhak Perlman, and Midori.

In December 2022, “Carol of the Bells” returns to Carnegie Hall 100 years after its North American premiere, when New York audiences first experienced Ukraine’s unique choral tradition. Hear the song alongside other beloved Ukrainian carols and contemporary choral works in a concert that features conductor Daniela Candillari, soprano Janai Brugger, Ukrainian-Canadian singer Marichka Marczyk, Ukraine Children’s Choir Shchedryk, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York, and Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America.

Photography: Ukrainian Chorus Dumka by Chris Lee; artifacts courtesy of the Carnegie Hall Rose Archives.