Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Mitt hjerte alltid vanker



I just discovered this wonderful Danish Christmas hymn on Pandora tonight, and searched out the lyrics, which I've reproduced below. Along the way I discovered  this blog. It gives the background of the lyrics:   

It's a carol that dates from 1732 and is by a Danish Lutheran bishop Hans Adolph Brorson. Brorson lived in Sleswig which was a conduit for the thoughts and practices of the German pietist movement into Denmark. During his lifetime he was a very successful clergyman (although his private life was marked by tragedies including the early death of his much-loved wife and the insanity of his son perhaps this is what accounts for the resigned tone of some of his funeral hymns).
Brorson's hymns generally have a lyricism that is quite unique — to my mind he is the Danish lyricist when it comes to religious music and I distinctly prefer his music above that of other Danish hymn writers and psalmists such as Kingo. His music lost it's popularity in Denmark for a while after his death but he was "rediscovered" during Denmark's nationalist phase and he is now considered to be one of Denmark's most important hymn writers.
Mitt hjerte alltid vanker is one of relatively few Christmas hymns (Salmer – Psalms in Danish) that he wrote. It never lost it's popularity in Norway and to this day it remains more popular in Norway than it is in Denmark, indeed it's hard to imagine a Christmas in Norway without it
It's a carol that dates from 1732 and is by a Danish Lutheran bishop Hans Adolph Brorson. Brorson lived in Sleswig which was a conduit for the thoughts and practices of the German pietist movement into Denmark. During his lifetime he was a very successful clergyman (although his private life was marked by tragedies including the early death of his much-loved wife and the insanity of his son perhaps this is what accounts for the resigned tone of some of his funeral hymns).
Brorson's hymns generally have a lyricism that is quite unique — to my mind he is the Danish lyricist when it comes to religious music and I distinctly prefer his music above that of other Danish hymn writers and psalmists such as Kingo. His music lost it's popularity in Denmark for a while after his death but he was "rediscovered" during Denmark's nationalist phase and he is now considered to be one of Denmark's most important hymn writers.
Mitt hjerte alltid vanker is one of relatively few Christmas hymns (Salmer – Psalms in Danish) that he wrote. It never lost it's popularity in Norway and to this day it remains more popular in Norway than it is in Denmark, indeed it's hard to imagine a Christmas in Norway without it
It's a carol that dates from 1732 and is by a Danish Lutheran bishop Hans Adolph Brorson. Brorson lived in Sleswig which was a conduit for the thoughts and practices of the German pietist movement into Denmark. During his lifetime he was a very successful clergyman (although his private life was marked by tragedies including the early death of his much-loved wife and the insanity of his son perhaps this is what accounts for the resigned tone of some of his funeral hymns).
Brorson's hymns generally have a lyricism that is quite unique — to my mind he is the Danish lyricist when it comes to religious music and I distinctly prefer his music above that of other Danish hymn writers and psalmists such as Kingo. His music lost it's popularity in Denmark for a while after his death but he was "rediscovered" during Denmark's nationalist phase and he is now considered to be one of Denmark's most important hymn writers.
Mitt hjerte alltid vanker is one of relatively few Christmas hymns (Salmer – Psalms in Danish) that he wrote. It never lost it's popularity in Norway and to this day it remains more popular in Norway than it is in Denmark, indeed it's hard to imagine a Christmas in Norway without it.

Mitt hjerte alltid vanker
 i Jesu føderom,
der samles mine tanker 
som i sin hovedsum. 
Der er min lengsel hjemme, 
der har min tro sin skatt; 
jeg kan deg aldri glemme 
velsignet julenatt! 

 My heart always wanders
To where Jesus once was born.
There I collect and unify my thoughts.
There my longing finds its home,
 there my faith has its treasure;
I can never forget you
O blessed Christmas night

En spurv har dog sitt rede
 og sikre hvilebo,
 ensvale ma ei bede
om nattely og ro.
en love vet sin hule
hvor den kan hvile fa
-- skal da min Gud seg skjule
 I andres stall og stra?

 A sparrow has its nest
and safe place of rest
A swallow can expect
a peaceful night's shelter
The lion has his cave where he can find rest
— Must my God take shelter
 in another's stable and straw?

Akk, kom jeg opp vil lukke
 mitt hjerte og mitt sinn
og full av lengsel sukke:
 Kom, Jesus, dog herinn!
Det er ei fremmed bolig,
du har den selv jo kjøpt,
så skal du blive trolig
 her i mitt hjerte svøpt.

Ach! I want to open my heart and soul
And full of longing sigh,
Oh come Jesus here within
This is no stranger's housing, you bought it of yourself
Here can you safely stay,
swaddled in my heart
 
 Jeg gjerne palemgrene
vil om din krybbe strø,
for deg, for deg alene
jeg leve vil og dø.
Kom, la min sjel dog finne
sin rette gledes stund,
at du er født herinne
 i hjertets dype grunn

 I want to scatter palm branches
around your crib,
For you, for you alone
will I live and will I die.
Oh Come let my soul find within you
its pure blissful moment,
That you were born here
deep in my heart's depths

1 comment:

Ann said...

Thank you, Beth! I agree that is a beautiful hymn. I'd only wish for the writer giving the background to know the difference between the contraction of "it is" and the possessive "its"! :)