Five Christmas Songs Explained

Five Christmas Songs
Type:	Song collection
Image Upright:	.9
Border:	Yes
Language:	Swedish
Opus:	1
Composed:	–1913

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

Constituent songs

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

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

Arrangements of Nos. 4–5

Sibelius made several arrangements of "Swedish: Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt|italics=no": for male choir in 1935; for voice and female choir 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 "Swedish: On hanget korkeat, nietokset|italics=no": for two voices and piano in 1903–1905; and for two unaccompanied female voices in 1942.

Notes, references, and sources

Sources

• Book: Barnett, Andrew. Sibelius. 2007. New Haven, Connecticut. Yale University Press. 978-0-300-16397-1.
• Book: Dahlström, Fabian.

  sv:Fabian Dahlström

  . Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke. Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index of His Works. 2003. Breitkopf & Härtel. Wiesbaden. de. 3-7651-0333-0.
• Book: Layton, Robert. Robert Layton (musicologist). Sibelius. 4th. (The Master Musicians Series). 1993. 1965. New York. Schirmer Books. 0028713222.