The Birthday of a King
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God Luke 2:13
Before you continue reading this history, please listen to the song that was written for children. I sang this in church when I was quite young, and I can still remember every single word.
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William Harold Neidlinger loved music, he loved children, and he excelled in introducing one to the other. He was born in Brooklyn on July 20,1863, and as a young man he studied under some of the greatest composers of his day in New York and London. His own career as a composer and singing teacher took him to London, Paris, and New York. He taught in the music department of the Brooklyn Institute of Art and Sciences and served as organist and choral conductor in various societies and choirs.
He wrote comic operas, cantatas, church music, and secular songs. But he found his best audience in children. Some critics complained that he had reduced himself to writing “children’s ditties.” But his book Small Songs for Small Singers became a standard musical textbook in kindergartens across America for decades. As it turned out, the success of his book changed his life. Neidlinger became passionate about children’s musical education and developed a deep burden for disabled youngsters, especially those with speech and vocal disabilities. He virtually abandoned his music career, studied child psychology, and established a school for “subnormal children” in East Orange, New Jersey. Failing health forced him to turn his work over to others as he devoted his remaining strength to finishing a book entitled New Analysis of Human Speech.
After a long illness he passed away at the age of sixty-two at his home in on a Friday night in 1924, at the beginning of the Christmas season. His obituary in the New York Times mentions his books, school, health, operas and musical achievements. Strangely, it did not mention the one great achievement for which he is remembered to this day—his great Christmas carol about the birthday of a King.
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The legacy that he left was not what he probably thought it would be! What message are you going to leave for future generations?
May your days be filled with great joy as we celebrate the birthday of our King.