Carl Nielsen
Søvnen, opus 18
for kor og orkester
Sleep, Opus 18
for Choir and Orchestra
Opus 18
CNW 101
CNUCarl Nielsen Udgaven (The Carl Nielsen Edition. Royal Danish Library: Copenhagen 1998–2009)
III/1
CNSCarl Nielsens Samling (The Carl Nielsen Collection, Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen)
311
FSDan Fog & Torben Schousboe: Carl Nielsen kompositioner. En Bibliografi. København 1965.
33
Author: Johannes Jørgensen
Composition: 1903–04.
Nielsen had barely completed the Helios overture (CNW 34) during a stay in Greece in the spring of 1903, before he began on the new piece, Søvnen. The work on the composition did not come easily to him, for six months later he had not got much further. During autumn 1903, he seems to have had a turning-point, however, and finished it in November the following year.
Music
Milde Søvn, du store Moder
En Kval, en Tynge... vé mig er jeg vaagen?
Sources
Score, sketch
Sketch
Score, autograph, fair copy
Piano score, autograph (Henrik Knudsen), fair copy
Score, print
Piano score, print
Choral parts, print
Performances
21 Mar. 1905 | Odd Fellow Palæet, Copenhagen (The Music Society (Musikforeningen); conductor: Carl Nielsen). First performance. |
23 Mar. 1905 | Odd Fellow Palæet, Copenhagen (The Music Society (Musikforeningen); conductor: Carl Nielsen). |
11 Nov. 1905 | Odd Fellow Palæet, Copenhagen (conductor: Carl Nielsen). |
11 Feb. 1918 | Odd Fellow Palæet, Copenhagen (The Music Society (Musikforeningen); conductor: Carl Nielsen). |
Documents
Letters:
Diary entries:
Manuscripts:
[Selvbiografi]. DK-KkDet Kongelige Bibliotek, København CNACarl Nielsen Arkivet (The Carl Nielsen Archive, Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen) ID3. Typewritten and undated manuscript, presumably intended for Nielsen's autobiography (SamtidJohn Fellow (ed.): Carl Nielsen til sin samtid. Det Kongelige Bibliotek/Gyldendal: Copenhagen 1999. 9)
Søvnen. DK-KkDet Kongelige Bibliotek, København CNACarl Nielsen Arkivet (The Carl Nielsen Archive, Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen) ID3a. Undated manuscript with what appears to be Nielsen's own attempt at a text for 'Søvnen'. (SamtidJohn Fellow (ed.): Carl Nielsen til sin samtid. Det Kongelige Bibliotek/Gyldendal: Copenhagen 1999. 237)
Bibliography
Robert Simpson: Carl Nielsen: Symphonist 1865–1931. J.M. Dent & Sons: London 1952.
Søren Sørensen: 'Korværkerne', in: Jürgen Balzer (ed.): Carl Nielsen: i hundredåret for hans fødsel (Nyt Nordisk Forlag Arnold Busck: Copenhagen 1965), pp. 97–109.
Søren Sørensen: 'The Chroal Works', in: Jürgen Balzer (ed.): Carl Nielsen Centenary Essays (Nyt Nordisk Forlag Arnold Busck: Copenhagen 1965), pp. 103–15.
David Reinhardt Docter: Choral Music in Denmark, 1900–1960: Repertory and Stylistic Trends. University of Minnesota: 1976. Ph.D. dissertation.
Thomas Bradley Krenek: An Examination and Analysis of the Choral Music of Carl Nielsen. University of Cincinnati: 1984. DMA dissertation.
Elly Bruunshuus Petersen: 'Carl Nielsen, Søvnen, opus 18: en musiktekst bliver til'. Fund og Forskning i Det Kongelige Biblioteks samlinger, 43, 2004, pp. 405–22.
Last changed 2022-12-02 by MerMEId