DJ Xero, Operative of SeeDarkly™ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
seedarklyxero) wrote2018-12-23 10:00 am
seedarklyxero) wrote2018-12-23 10:00 am
SeeDarkly Sunday DisCOVERies : Ring the Little Unholy Bell
Welcome to SeeDarkly Sunday DisCOVERies:
a weekly exploration of goth, industrial, & dark alternative cover songs!
First time here? Click here for details from first entry.
Time for an annual dark X-mas carol! This one is an aggressive NDH version of a traditional German carol that dates back to the 1800's!
Consider it my gift to you! ⌧̯̫(⍢) :
Unheilig - Kling Glöckchen Klingelingeling (Traditional - Original Recording Not Found)
Kling Glöckchen (Ring Little Bell) was written by Karl Enslin sometime in the 19th century and may have been originally titled, Christkindchens inlet. It was set to music, though sources don't seem to agree on who did first, composers Wilhelm Speyer or Benedikt Widmann, but Widmann's name comes up more often. It's believed to have been first sighted in a 1854 edition of the music publication titled Liederquelle. Who recorded this German canticle first is also a mystery. Most recordings through the decades appear to have been done principally by German children's choirs. That in itself is interesting given the song is written from the point of view of a stranger traveling in snowy weather, ringing doorbells from house to house, and asking for the children inside to give him shelter, offering the promise of gifts. Most interpretations regard the stranger as either Christ or Santa Claus, and the general tone of the song is far more innocent than nefarious as it sounds.
One source claims that as recently as 2016 there are "231 phonograms and 193 prints" (records?) of the song in the German Music Archive. One of the earliest of those appears to date back to the 1950's. Der Bendersche Kinderchor were recorded performing the song on a four track single in 1951. It's not clear if that recording or a newer one was the one included on the choir's full length carols album, Fröhliche Weihnachten (German for "Merry Christmas") in 1958.
What is clear however is that since that time most every German artist that has recorded an Xmas album has included a rendition of Kling in their compilations.
Unheilig (German for "Unholy") is a Neue Deutsche Härte project helmed by Bernd Heinrich "Der Graf (The Count)" who made the bold move of making their second album, the 2002 Frohes Fest, entirely of Christmas songs. While correlation does not always indicate causation, it's interesting that Graf's band broke up shortly after this release and he was forced to assemble a new group for the project. The album consists of twelve seasonal songs (one split into four verses dispersed though the other tracks) which includes familiar standards like O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree) and Stille Nacht Heilige Nacht (Silent Night Holy Night). His version of Kling Glöckchen Klingelingeling is the second track on the album. Though it's not clear why he chose to do this album, he has stated that it would be unlikely that he'd chose to do another Christmas themed album, suggesting the idea would be repetitive and too easy.
With deep and growling vocals over an electro-industrial rhythm, The Count lives up to a dark reputation, giving the the song a menacing quality that invokes the sense that something "unholy" is ringing your little door bell, trying to get in. д＼(✖.̫✖)ノ♪:
The Cover:
The Earliest Found:
Want some more dark X-mas covers? Scroll down for links to the previous entries!
Next week:
There's been a minute theme to this month... small... almost imperceptible! For the final entry of the year you'll get a Fifth Sunday A La Mode that might be monumental!
(Then again, I could use it as a little retrospection about my year... we'll see.)
Feel free to tell me what you think about today's cover! Comments, suggestions, discussions, etc... welcome!
(You do NOT need a Dreamwidth account to comment, but all comments are screened for spam prevention.)
Explore the darkness,
-Xero
Previous XMAS DisCOVERies
Dec 24, 2017 - Misters of Circe - Clanging Chimes of Doom (originally Do The Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid)
Dec 25, 2016 - Eisenfunk - Jinglefunk [Jingle Bells](Edison Male Quartet)
Dec 20, 2015 - The Crüxshadows: Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (John Lennon)
Dec 13, 2015 - Rotersand - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (RoterSanta) (Harry Reser/Tom Stacks)
. Directory of ALL Previous DisCOVERies .
a weekly exploration of goth, industrial, & dark alternative cover songs!
First time here? Click here for details from first entry.
Time for an annual dark X-mas carol! This one is an aggressive NDH version of a traditional German carol that dates back to the 1800's!
Consider it my gift to you! ⌧̯̫(⍢) :
Unheilig - Kling Glöckchen Klingelingeling (Traditional - Original Recording Not Found)
Kling Glöckchen (Ring Little Bell) was written by Karl Enslin sometime in the 19th century and may have been originally titled, Christkindchens inlet. It was set to music, though sources don't seem to agree on who did first, composers Wilhelm Speyer or Benedikt Widmann, but Widmann's name comes up more often. It's believed to have been first sighted in a 1854 edition of the music publication titled Liederquelle. Who recorded this German canticle first is also a mystery. Most recordings through the decades appear to have been done principally by German children's choirs. That in itself is interesting given the song is written from the point of view of a stranger traveling in snowy weather, ringing doorbells from house to house, and asking for the children inside to give him shelter, offering the promise of gifts. Most interpretations regard the stranger as either Christ or Santa Claus, and the general tone of the song is far more innocent than nefarious as it sounds.
One source claims that as recently as 2016 there are "231 phonograms and 193 prints" (records?) of the song in the German Music Archive. One of the earliest of those appears to date back to the 1950's. Der Bendersche Kinderchor were recorded performing the song on a four track single in 1951. It's not clear if that recording or a newer one was the one included on the choir's full length carols album, Fröhliche Weihnachten (German for "Merry Christmas") in 1958.
What is clear however is that since that time most every German artist that has recorded an Xmas album has included a rendition of Kling in their compilations.
Unheilig (German for "Unholy") is a Neue Deutsche Härte project helmed by Bernd Heinrich "Der Graf (The Count)" who made the bold move of making their second album, the 2002 Frohes Fest, entirely of Christmas songs. While correlation does not always indicate causation, it's interesting that Graf's band broke up shortly after this release and he was forced to assemble a new group for the project. The album consists of twelve seasonal songs (one split into four verses dispersed though the other tracks) which includes familiar standards like O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree) and Stille Nacht Heilige Nacht (Silent Night Holy Night). His version of Kling Glöckchen Klingelingeling is the second track on the album. Though it's not clear why he chose to do this album, he has stated that it would be unlikely that he'd chose to do another Christmas themed album, suggesting the idea would be repetitive and too easy.
With deep and growling vocals over an electro-industrial rhythm, The Count lives up to a dark reputation, giving the the song a menacing quality that invokes the sense that something "unholy" is ringing your little door bell, trying to get in. д＼(✖.̫✖)ノ♪:
The Cover:
The Earliest Found:
Want some more dark X-mas covers? Scroll down for links to the previous entries!
Next week:
There's been a minute theme to this month... small... almost imperceptible! For the final entry of the year you'll get a Fifth Sunday A La Mode that might be monumental!
(Then again, I could use it as a little retrospection about my year... we'll see.)
Feel free to tell me what you think about today's cover! Comments, suggestions, discussions, etc... welcome!
(You do NOT need a Dreamwidth account to comment, but all comments are screened for spam prevention.)
Explore the darkness,
-Xero
Previous XMAS DisCOVERies
Dec 24, 2017 - Misters of Circe - Clanging Chimes of Doom (originally Do The Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid)
Dec 25, 2016 - Eisenfunk - Jinglefunk [Jingle Bells](Edison Male Quartet)
Dec 20, 2015 - The Crüxshadows: Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (John Lennon)
Dec 13, 2015 - Rotersand - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (RoterSanta) (Harry Reser/Tom Stacks)
. Directory of ALL Previous DisCOVERies .