In December, Italian Christmas music is rarely just Italian. Parish choirs rehearse Tu Scendi dalle Stelle and Astro del Ciel, but at home many people put on Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey. The mix is common and tells a story of exchanges between Italy and the United States shaped by migration, translations and the global success of American pop music.
So, how did it all begin? Well, with the few carols that truly came from Italy. The most famous is Tu scendi dalle Stelle, written in the eighteenth century by Neapolitan priest and later saint Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori; his simple pastorale evokes the cold of the stable and the humility of the Nativity, and became “the” Italian Christmas hymn.
