Featured: Annex Wealth Management’s President & CEO Dave Spano, CFP® Again Named To Milwaukee-Area Power Brokers

Annex Wealth Management’s President and CEO Dave Spano has again been named to the Milwaukee Business Journal’s “Milwaukee Power Brokers.” This is the second consecutive year Spano has been named to the list.

“Power Brokers” often impact their community and serve as leaders on both the public and private level. Dave has served as Chairman of the Board of the Financial Planning Association of Southern Wisconsin, the President of the Italian Community Center, Festa Italiana, and The United Ethnic Festivals. Dave also served on the boards of Summerfest, The Historic Third Ward, Lakeshore State Park and Miller Park Stadium Board, as well as the finance committees of Divine Savior Holy Angels High School and St. Mary’s Visitation.

A fixture on Milwaukee radio for years, Dave hosts several radio shows which air around the state and in Florida. On-air, he weaves insights as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ with more than 30 years of experience in wealth management.

Currently, Dave is the chairman of the Annex Charitable Foundation, which has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to deserving charities in the community.

Annex Wealth Management is a frequent sponsor of community events and Spano is a generous contributor to many southeastern Wisconsin nonprofit groups.

It really was a Silent Night.

The story of one of the most beloved songs ever written.

Turns out, one of the most beloved songs of the season is over 200 years old. The story goes that a young Austrian priest went walking out in the village around his church one December evening in 1816 and was so captivated by the quiet, still, and snowy night that he came back inside and wrote a six-verse poem that very evening. It was not too long after that he brought his poem to a musician he knew in a nearby town to have a melody created to fit the words, with the intention of having it ready for the annual Christmas Eve service.

The priest and lyricist was Joseph Mohr, the composer was Franz X. Gruber, and the song’s first audience was the attendees of the 1818 Christmas Eve mass at St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria.[1] The simple, yet beautiful melody was captivating to those first audiences. An organ builder and repairman for the church at the time enjoyed it so much that he took a copy of the song back to his own village. From that village, two popular families of folk singers heard the song and subsequently added it to their repertoire as they toured around northern Europe, spreading the song as they went.

Eventually, one of the families even performed the song for the King of Prussia and other dignitaries in 1834, and in 1839, Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht made its way across the sea for its debut in New York in front of Trinity Church at Christmas time. [2] Because of the widespread enjoyment of the song, it was soon translated into several different languages. The tune became so widely known that listeners knew what the song was, no matter what language the lyrics were in.

That’s why, in December of 1914, this song helped create a bridge between the two clashing sides during World War 1, allowing the soldiers to create a moment of peace, and a silent night, even during war. Though an official truce was never called that winter, soldiers on both sides initiated a cease in hostilities across the Western Front on Christmas, and in some places even the days leading up to the 25th.[3] German and English soldiers sang Christmas carols in their respective languages from trench to trench, and eventually stepped out onto the devastated battlefield and met in no-man’s land to exchange gifts of buttons, hats, or cigarettes and celebrate Christmas in peace.[4] The large volume of accounts of the Christmas Truce, as it became known, made it hard to verify events. But when we stop to think about it, that also means a vast number of soldiers were able to experience it which created the flood of reports back home. It also provides, even to this day, a sign of hope that even in the midst of hostility and fighting, it is possible that enemies can lay down their weapons in the name of the season.

And in the midst of it all, Silent Night. Just like the Austrian village in 1816, the battlefield of 1914 was also calm and bright. A cease to fighting meant peace, quiet, and rest. Just what Mohr meant when he first wrote his poem.

Today, the song is sung in over 300 languages around the world and is considered one of the most popular musical pieces in history.[5] A wide variety of artists have tackled this song, from classic musicians such as The Three Tenors to current chart-toping artists like Michael Bublé. Also, we’re not sure we should even mention this one, but there is a version of the song by William Shatner (yes, you read that right) and Iggy Pop. Take our word for it, it’s…odd.

Over the past 200 years, this song has taken on a whole life of its own. John Mohr would be pleased to know that his work has endured through the years. If you really love Silent Night, you can even go visit Mohr in Salzburg at the Silent Night Memorial Chapel. Sculptor and pastor Joseph Mühlbacher set out to create a memorial located at the site of the first singing of the song, and though never confirmed, it is believed that the skull of Mohr was walled into the building as the ultimate tribute.[6]

Of the original six-stanza poem, there are three verses used in the most modern version of the song – the first, sixth, and second, in that order. Though the words have been updated to create a better flow in modern language, the melody remains untouched. Commonly sung on December 24th by candlelight, this tradition is one that has lasted since 1818, and we hope it continues for another 200 years.

Have an idea you’d like us to write about, or a story to share? Send us an email at cl************@*********th.com.

[1] https://www.wrti.org/arts-desk/2020-12-19/the-story-behind-the-beloved-christmas-carol-silent-night

[2] https://www.wrti.org/arts-desk/2020-12-19/the-story-behind-the-beloved-christmas-carol-silent-night

[3] https://time.com/3643889/christmas-truce-1914/

[4] https://time.com/3643889/christmas-truce-1914/

[5] https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/blog/silent-night-turns-200-fascinating-facts-about-the-beloved-christmas-carol-1.4950242

[6] https://www.stillenacht.com/en/a-global-hit-is-born/myths-and-legends/