Jacob de Haan wrote this arrangement for concert band, fanfare band and brass band and optional male voice choir. The original carol was written by the Austrian composer and organist Franz Gruber (1787-1863). He was asked to write Silent Night on the 24th of December 1818 by the priest of the Church of St. Nicolas in Oberndorf, who had himself written the text. It is a romantic carol, with nuances of contemporary Austrian folk and Italian pastorale music.