The Five Christmas Songs, Op. 1,[a] is a collection of Swedish-language art songs for vocal soloist and piano written from 1897 to 1913 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

Five Christmas Songs
Song collection by Jean Sibelius
The composer (c. 1900)
Opus1
LanguageSwedish
Composed1897 (1897)–1913

Constituent songs

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Ordered by catalogue, the Op. 1 songs are as follows:

  • "Nu står jul vid snöig port" ("Now Christmas Stands at the Snowy Gate"), Op. 1/1 (1913); text by the Finnish poet Zacharias Topelius[1]
  • "Nu så kommer julen" ("Now Is Christmas Coming"), Op. 1/2 (1913); text by Topelius[2]
  • "Det mörknar ute" ("Outside It is Growing Dark"), Op. 1/3 (1897); text by Topelius[3]
  • "Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt" ("Give Me No Splendor, Gold or Pomp"), Op. 1/4 (1909); text by Topelius[4]
  • "On hanget korkeat, nietokset" ("High are the Snowdrif"), Op. 1/5 (1901); text by the Finnish poet Wilkku Joukahainen[5]

Arrangements of Nos. 4–5

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Sibelius made several arrangements of "Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt": for male choir a cappella in 1935; for voice and female choir a cappella in 1942; for two unaccompanied female voices in 1942; and for children's choir and organ in 1954. Moreover, he also made several arrangements of "On hanget korkeat, nietokset": for two voices and piano in 1903–1905; and for two unaccompanied female voices in 1942.[6]

Notes, references, and sources

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Notes

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  1. ^ Because Sibelius's Op. 1 songs are sung in Swedish, this article gives preference to each song's native title, rather than the English translation.

References

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  1. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 407; Dahlström 2003, p. 1.
  2. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 408; Dahlström 2003, p. 2.
  3. ^ Barnett 2007, p. 405; Dahlström 2003, pp. 2–3.
  4. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 407, 416; Dahlström 2003, p. 3–6.
  5. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 406, 413, 416; Dahlström 2003, pp. 6–9.
  6. ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 115, 145, 166, 201, 230, 344, 348.

Sources

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  • Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-16397-1.
  • Dahlström, Fabian [in Swedish] (2003). Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke [Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index of His Works] (in German). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN 3-7651-0333-0.
  • Layton, Robert (1993) [1965]. Sibelius. (The Master Musicians Series) (4th ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0028713222.