"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol which is based on the Ukrainian song called "Shchedryk" (Ukrainian: Щедрик). The "Carol of the Bells" uses the original melody from "Shchedryk," written by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914. Ukrainian "Shchedryk" was adapted as an English Christmas carol, "Carol of the Bells", by Peter J. Wilhousky of NBC Radio, following a performance of the original song by the Ukrainian National Chorus at Carnegie Hall on October 5, 1922. Peter J. Wilhousky, American composer, music educator, and choral conductor of Ukrainian descent, wrote the lyrics in English. The Ukrainian music is in the public domain; Wilhousky's lyrics, however, are under copyright owned by Carl Fischer Music. The music is based on a four-note ostinato and is in time signature, with the B-flat bell pealing in time. The carol is metrically bistable, and a listener can focus on either measure or switch between them. It has been adapted for many genres, including: classical, metal, jazz, country music, rock, trap, and pop. The piece also features in films, television shows, and parodies. Background Origins The conductor of the Ukrainian Republic Capella, Oleksander Koshyts (also spelled Alexander Koshetz) commissioned Leontovych to create the song based on traditional Ukrainian folk chants, and the resulting new work for choir, "Shchedryk", was based on four notes Leontovych found in an anthology. The original folk story related in the song was associated with the coming New Year, which, in pre-Christian Ukraine, was celebrated with the coming of spring in April. The original Ukrainian title translates to "the generous one" or is perhaps derived from the Ukrainian word for bountiful (), and tells a tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the bountiful year that the family will have. With the introduction of Christianity to Ukraine and the adoption of the Julian calendar, the celebration of the New Year was moved from April to January, and the holiday with which the chant was originally associated became Malanka (, ), the eve of the Julian New Year (the night of January 13–14 in the Gregorian calendar). The songs sung for this celebration are known as . The song was first performed by students at Kyiv University in December 1916, but the song lost popularity in Ukraine shortly after the Soviet Union took hold. It was introduced to Western audiences by the Ukrainian National Chorus during its