Five Christmas Songs

Collection of art songs by Jean Sibelius (1899–1900)

Five Christmas Songs
Song collection by Jean Sibelius
The composer (c. 1900)
Opus	1
Language	Swedish
Composed	1897 (1897)–1913

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.

Constituent songs

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

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

Notes

^ 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

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

Sources

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.

Jean Sibelius

Symphonies

Kullervo (1892)
Symphony No. 1 (1899, rev. 1900)
Symphony No. 2 (1902)
Symphony No. 3 (1907)
Symphony No. 4 (1911)
Symphony No. 5 (1915, rev. 1916, 1919)
Symphony No. 6 (1923)
Symphony No. 7 (1924)
Symphony No. 8 (mid 1920s–c. 1938, abandoned)

Concertante

Violin Concerto (1904, rev. 1905)
Two Serenades (1912–1913)
Two Serious Melodies (1914–1915)
Six Humoresques (1917–1918, No. 1 rev. 1940)
Suite for Violin and String Orchestra (1929)

Tone poems

En saga (1892, rev. 1902)
Spring Song (1894, rev. 1895)
The Wood Nymph (1895)
Lemminkäinen Suite
- 1895, rev. 1897, 1900, 1939; includes The Swan of Tuonela
Finlandia (1899)
Pohjola's Daughter (1906)
Nightride and Sunrise (1909)
The Dryad (1910)
The Bard (1913)
Luonnotar (1913)
The Oceanides (1914, rev. 1914)
Tapiola (1926)

Opera & theatre

The Building of the Boat (1893–1894, abandoned)
The Maiden in the Tower (1896)
King Christian II (1898)
Kuolema
- 1903; includes Valse triste
Pelléas et Mélisande (1905)
Belshazzar's Feast (1906)
Swanwhite (1908)
The Lizard (1909)
The Language of the Birds (1911)
Scaramouche (1913)
Everyman (1916)
The Tempest (1925)

Cantatas

Cantata for the University Graduation Ceremonies of 1894
Cantata for the Coronation of Nicholas II (1896)
Cantata for the University Graduation Ceremonies of 1897
The Origin of Fire (1902, rev. 1910)
The Captive Queen (1906)
My Own Land (1918)
Song of the Earth (1919)
Hymn of the Earth (1920)
Väinämöinen's Song (1926)

Other voice(s) & orchestra

The Rapids-Rider's Brides (1897)
The Breaking of the Ice on the Oulu River (1899)
Snöfrid (1900)
Marjatta (1905, abandoned)
Impromptu (1902, rev. 1910)
The Raven (1910, abandoned)

Other orchestral

Overture in E major (1891)
Ballet Scene (1891)
Karelia Suite (1893)
Rakastava (1894, arr. 1912)
Scènes historiques I (1899, arr. 1911)
Overture in A minor (1902)
Romance in C major (1904)
Cassazione (1904, rev. 1905)
Pan and Echo (1906)
In memoriam (1909, rev. 1910)
Scènes historiques II (1912)
Suite mignonne (1921)
Suite champêtre (1922)
Suite caractéristique (1922)

String quartets

String Quartet in E-flat major (1885)
String Quartet in A minor (1889)
String Quartet in B-flat major (1890)
String Quartet in D minor, Voces intimae (1909)
Andante festivo (1922, orch. 1938)

Piano trios

Piano Trio in A minor, Hafträsk (1886)
Piano Trio in D major, Korpo (1887)
Piano Trio in C major, Lovisa (1888)

Other chamber

Water Droplets (c. 1875–1881)
Pieces for brass septet (1889–1899)
Piano Quintet (1890)
Malinconia (1900)
Violin Sonatina (1915)

Piano

Six Impromptus (1893)
Piano Sonata (1893)
Ten Pieces, Op. 24 (1895–1903)
Kyllikki (1904)
Three Sonatinas (1912)
The Bells of Kallio Church (1912, arr. 1912)
Two Rondinos (1912)
Five Pieces, The Trees, Op. 75 (1914)
Five Pieces, The Flowers, Op. 85 (1916–1917)
Five Esquisses (1929)

Songs

Seven Runeberg Songs, Op. 13 (1891–1892)
"Serenad", JS 168 (1894–1895)
Six Songs, Op. 36 (1899–1900)
Five Songs, Op. 37 (1900–1902)
Seven Songs, Op. 17 (1891–1904)
Five Songs, Op. 38 (1903–1904; includes "Höstkväll")
Six Songs, Op. 50 (1906)
Two Songs, Op. 35 (1908)
"Kom nu hit, död", Op. 60/1 (1909, orch. 1957)
"Arioso", Op. 3 (1911)
Five Christmas Songs, Op. 1 (1897–1913; includes "Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt")
Six Runeberg Songs, Op. 90 (1917)