Carl Nielsen

Tre Motetter, opus 55

Three Motets, Opus 55

Opus 55
CNW Coll. 24
CNUCarl Nielsen Udgaven (The Carl Nielsen Edition. Royal Danish Library: Copenhagen 1998–2009) III/6, 297–299
CNSCarl Nielsens Samling (The Carl Nielsen Collection, Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen) 308
FSDan Fog & Torben Schousboe: Carl Nielsen kompositioner. En Bibliografi. København 1965. 139

Composition: 1929.

Already in late 1928, Nielsen thought of writing pieces for a cappella choir. The actual work on Tre Motetter lasted from the beginning of April 1929 until the fair copy was ready in the middle of August that year. In this period, Nielsen studied vocal polyphonic works of Renaissance composers. Nielsen thought highly of his Tre Motetter, both in terms of the finished product and as a compositional process. His point of departure was the fundamental moods of the Biblical texts, and only later did he choose the vocal texts. The motets were dedicated to and later performed by the Palestrina Choir and its conductor Mogens Wöldike.