on the night of January 13, New Year's Eve in the Julian Calendar (December 31 Old Style), which is Shchedry Vechir. In modern Ukraine, the song is again sung on the eve of the Julian New Year (January 13). Arrangement by Leontovych The four-note melody over a minor third of the chant was used by Ukrainian composer and teacher Mykola Leontovych as an ostinato theme in a number of arrangements he made. It is the most famous of all his songs. "Shchedryk" is generally said to have been first performed by students at Kyiv University on 25 December 1916. However, it was first performed on 29 December 1916 in the Kyiv Merchants' Assembly Hall, now part of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. The arrangement for mixed voice choir a cappella was popularized by the Ukrainian Republic Capella directed by Oleksander Koshetz when it toured Europe in 1920/21. The first recording was made in New York in October 1922 for Brunswick Records. "Carol of the Bells" "Shchedryk" was later 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 Alexander Koshetz's Ukrainian National Chorus at Carnegie Hall on October 5, 1922. Wilhousky copyrighted and published his new lyrics (which were not based on the Ukrainian lyrics) in 1936, and the song became popular in the United States and Canada, where it became strongly associated with Christmas. Although "Carol of the Bells" uses the melody from "," the lyrics of these two songs have nothing in common. The ostinato of the Ukrainian song suggested to Wilhousky the sound of ringing bells, so he wrote lyrics on that theme. Several other lyricists have written for the same melody, usually retaining the Wilhousky’s bell theme. A 1947 version, "Ring, Christmas Bells," is a Christian devotional song. There is also an English adaptation of the original Ukrainian by Stepan Pasicznyk. Lyrics See also Koleda Malanka References Sources (English text version) Further reading External links New Year songs 1916 songs Winter traditions Compositions by Mykola Leontovych Ukrainian folk songs Articles containing video clips Songs about birds