Author: Max Brzezinski
Laurence Libin has written that “Moravian belief blurs distinctions between sacred and secular and so sanctifies all aspects of life, even a piece of light parlor music becomes holy when played with genuine feeling.” Anyone who has heard Moravian brass bands, choirs or carolers in Forsyth County knows this to be true. Whether in a packed church, or on the grounds of Old Salem, Moravian Christmas music in North Carolina radiates a homey spirituality in which music functions as an outgrowth of everyday life.
The Moravian Church has its beginnings in 15th century Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia (now in present day Czech Republic and Germany). As such, Moravians were at the wellspring of the Reformation and considered by many historians as the first Protestant sect (predating Lutherans by half-a-century). The Moravian ideal is a peace-seeking, no-frills approach to Christianity, characterized by an emphasis on community, personal conscience, and ethical action, encapsulated in the motto “in essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, in all things love.”
The first Moravian missionaries arrived in the US in 1735 and established themselves in Pennsylvania. In 1753, a group of Moravians bought a large tract of land in North Carolina they named Wachovia: soon after they established the communities of Bethabara, Bethania, and Salem (now Winston-Salem). Salem became the most prominent of the group and became the Southern capital of the movement (Bethlehem, PA being its Northern capital). Today these two cities still have the highest concentration of Moravians in the US. Wherever they travelled, Moravians blended German traditions of their homelands with those of their new American residences.
Around Christmastime, Moravian communities in Forsyth County, particularly in Old Salem, abound with holiday tunes. Hymns like “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Morning Star,” can be heard alongside music from more catholic sources (pardon the pun), such as “Joy to the World” and “Silent Night.” These performances are usually delivered in an unadorned vocal style with simple accompaniment on organ: the Moravian faith emphasizes communal expression over virtuosic individuality.
Music pervades the many festivities held during Holidays at Old Salem. If you are lucky enough to catch an Advent or Christmas service at the Home Moravian Church, you can hear carols played on their 18th-Century Tannenberg organ. Additionally, Moravian music in North Carolina also bearers a long “brass” band tradition, dating back to at least 1754 when settlers in Bethabara made virtue of necessity by carving a trumpet from a hollow tree and claimed that “no trumpet in Bethlehem” had a better tone. During the Civil War, Moravian musicians rebuilt the decimated 26th NC Regimental Band.
Today, Moravian brass bands play accompaniment for many holiday activities in Old Salem, including the sharing of coffee and sugar cakes between community members, nativity celebrations, and lovefeasts (the term for a song service during which a simple meal is served). Holidays at Old Salem often also features a children's caroling parade and bluegrass dulcimer renditions of holiday favorites, so no matter where you turn, you'll hear the meditative and minimal sounds of Moravian music, traditional and translated.
Learn More:
Bean Bower, Jennifer. Moravians in North Carolina. Charleston: Arcadia Press, 2006.
Eyerly, Sarah Justina. Moravian Soundscapes. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, 2020.
Knouse, Nola Reed, ed. The Music of the Moravian Church in America. Rochester: University of Rochester, 2008.
Reichel, Levin Theodore. The Moravians in North Carolina: An Authentic History. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott and Co., 1857.
Image: An early Moravian songbook (Ein Gesangbuch Der Brder in Behemen vnd Merherrn) in the Moravian Music Foundation's collection (Winston-Salem), from the North Carolina Digital Collections.