L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano I n December, Italian Christmas music is rarely just Italian. P a r i s h c h o i r s rehearse Tu Scendi dalle Stelle and Astro del Ciel, but at home many peo- p l e p u t o n B i n g C r o s b y , Dean Martin, Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey. The mix is common and tells a story of exchanges between Italy a n d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s shaped by migration, trans- lations and the global suc- c e s s o f A m e r i c a n p o p music. So, how did it all begin? Well, with the few carols that truly came from Italy. T h e m o s t f a m o u s i s T u scendi dalle Stelle, written in the eighteenth century by Neapolitan priest and later saint Alphonsus Maria d e ' L i g u o r i ; h i s s i m p l e pastorale evokes the cold of the stable and the humility of the Nativity, and became " t h e " I t a l i a n C h r i s t m a s hymn. So, it isn't difficult to imagine that, when millions o f I t a l i a n s c r o s s e d t h e Atlantic at the turn of the t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y , t h e melody travelled with them. I n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , T u Scendi dalle stelle settled into the religious repertoire of Italian American parish- es: some kept the Italian lyrics, others used English versions such as "You Come Down from the Stars." In 1932 a music publisher in Providence, Rhode Island, printed an edition of the song for choirs, proof that it had become part of the sea- s o n a l s o u n d s c a p e o f t h e d i a s p o r a . I t s m e a n i n g i s still there today, and, for many families, it still repre- s e n t s t h e " r e a l " I t a l i a n Christmas, even if it never entered the broader Ameri- can canon the way English- language carols did. Actually, an Italian carol did manage that rare feat, but it was written on Amer- i c a n s o i l ! G e s ù B a m b i n o was composed in 1917 by Pietro Alessandro Yon, a P i e d m o n t e s e o r g a n i s t who had emigrated to New York and became director o f m u s i c a t S t P a t r i c k ' s Cathedral; Yon wrote the piece in Italian, but Ameri- c a n l y r i c i s t F r e d e r i c k Martens soon adapted it as When Blossoms Flowered 'mid the Snows. Thanks to its lush melody and its quo- tation of Adeste Fideles, the p i e c e w a s w e l c o m e d i n t o t h e A m e r i c a n C h r i s t m a s r e p e r t o i r e , a n d , o v e r t h e decades, it was recorded by c o u n t l e s s s i n g e r s a n d choirs, becoming one of the most successful examples of an Italian-born carol flour- ishing in the United States before returning to Italy in its English versions. While these songs were making their journey across the ocean, a different move- ment was taking shape in I t a l y : b e g i n n i n g i n t h e 1940s, American crooners. first Bing Crosby, then Frank Sinatra, Nat King C o l e , P e r r y C o m o a n d Dean Martin, brought a n e w s t y l e o f C h r i s t m a s music that Italians quickly embraced. Crosby's White Christmas, released in 1942, soon became the best-sell- ing single in history, and Italy was no exception: in the years of post-war recon- struction the song offered a n i m a g e o f s e r e n i t y a n d hope that listeners found irresistible. Italian lyricist Filibello created B i a n c o Natale, an adaptation that kept the gentle nostalgia of the original while giving it a local voice, to create a ver- sion that was eventually to become one of the country's m o s t b e l o v e d s e a s o n a l tunes. The same happened with Stille Nacht, which became Silent Night in English and Astro del Ciel in Italian. The Italian lyrics were written in t h e l a t e 1 9 3 0 s b y D o n Angelo Meli, a priest from Bergamo, and they softened the theological tone of the o r i g i n a l i n t o s o m e t h i n g more intimate and poetic. For many Italians the song now feels as old as Tu scen- di dalle Stelle, even though its Italian form is less than a century old, and it is per- haps almost as emblematic of an "Italian Christmas" even if it wasn't written in Italy at all! O t h e r A m e r i c a n s o n g s entered Italian households in a more direct form: tele- vision and later streaming platforms brought the Rat P a c k ' s C h r i s t m a s a l b u m s t o I t a l i a n a u d i - ences, and today Dean Mar- tin's holiday standards are among the most streamed Christmas tracks in Italy, and the fact that Martin, born Dino Crocetti to Ital- ian parents, was himself a symbol of Italian America only strengthened the con- n e c t i o n . W h e n I t a l i a n radios play his Let It Snow or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, listeners hear not just an American classic but also a familiar voice from a "cultural cousin," someone they feel somehow connect- ed to "home." Indeed, migration pro- d u c e d l i g h t e r , p l a y f u l echoes, too. In 1960 Italian A m e r i c a n s i n g e r L o u Monte released Dominick the Donkey, a novelty song about a donkey who helps Santa deliver presents in Italy because the reindeer struggle with the hills. The song is sprinkled with Ital- i a n w o r d s a n d c h e e k y humor and became a small c u l t i n I t a l i a n A m e r i c a n c o m m u n i t i e s . I t a l i a n s i n Italy often discover it later, usually through the inter- net, amused by its exagger- ated sense of "Italianness." I f w e c a n l e a r n s o m e - t h i n g f r o m t h e m u s i c a l t r e n d s o f I t a l i a n C h r i s t - mases of yesteryear is that Natale in Italy has always b e e n m o r e i n t e r n a t i o n a l t h a n i t a p p e a r s : s u r e l y , local tradition provided the oldest layer with tunes like Tu scendi dalle Stelle, but emigration added new col- ors through the voices of Pietro Yon and the parish repertoires of the diaspora. American popular culture t h e n w a s h e d o v e r I t a l y , bringing with it songs that Italians translated, adapted and made their own. And that's why today a typical Italian Christmas playlist can jump from a Neapolitan pastorale to Frank Sinatra without anyone noticing a contradiction. From Tu Scendi to Sinatra: a tale of two Christmas traditions SIMONE SCHIAVINATO LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors.

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