Song facts
- Original key
- G major
- Type
- Christmas carol
- Music
- Traditional German folk melody (traditional)
- Original lyrics
- Ernst Anschütz (first verse after August Zarnack, 1820) (died 1861)
- First published
- 1824
Public-domain songs · Christmas carol instrumental
O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)
Play the O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum) instrumental in the original key of G major, or from 3 semitones lower to 2 higher. Made by MR Maker from a public-domain score.
Last reviewed:
Backing track by key
The original key is G major. If it sits too high or too low for your voice, try the shifted versions and pick the one you can sing comfortably.
3 semitones lower (E major)
2 semitones lower (F major)
Original key (G major)
2 semitones higher (A major)
About this song
The fir-tree song began as something other than a carol. In 1820 August Zarnack made the evergreen a symbol of constancy in a lover's lament; in 1824 the Leipzig teacher and organist Ernst Anschütz kept that opening verse, recast the rest in praise of the tree, and printed it in his school songbook. Its melody, shared with the student song Lauriger Horatius, also carries Maryland, My Maryland and the Labour anthem The Red Flag. The American Lutheran Hymnal of 1930 sets it in G major.
Rights
The melody is in the public domain (first published 1824). MR Maker made this accompaniment from a public-domain score. It contains no lyrics, translations or third-party recordings.
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