Christmas has come early for fans of the late Queen of Soul. Her new lyric video features the solo piano version of the holiday classic.
We lost a legend on August 16. However, this holiday season, we have been given the gift of Aretha Franklin’s voice once again with a new lyric video of the solo piano version of “Silent Night.”
Christmas “was her favorite time of the year,” her niece Sabrina Owens explained in a statement. The song, a long-time holiday favorite, was originally composed in the early 19th century in Austria. In 2011 it was made an intangible item of cultural heritage by UNESCO.
Franklin’s version was released back in 2008 on her album This Christmas. In typical fashion, she makes the song her own with a stripped-back arrangement, a singular tone, and her incomparable power. The album’s producer, Tena Clark, commented that “her spirit is radiant throughout the record.”
