''Salmer 1997'' (1997 Hymns) is an official supplement to the
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...
's 1985 hymnal that was published in 1997.Wentz-Janacek, Elisabet. 2000. Nordeuropäiche Länder. In: Wolfgang Fischer (ed.), ''Werkbuch zum Evangelischen Gesangbuch'', vol. 4, ''Lieder aus anderen Ländern und Sprachen'', pp. 27–39. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, pp. 33–34. The
Church Council
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word meani ...
( no, Kirkerådet) was responsible for preparing it.
The supplement contains 283 hymns and other songs, including liturgical songs and songs in
Sami
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...
. Stylistically, it has a broad range of material, and the volume includes works by a number of composers and lyricists that are not represented in the 1985 hymnal. Approximately half of the songs were written after 1980; that is, after the selection for the 1985 hymnal had largely been completed. The foreword to the book states:
''Salmer 1997'' has a broad stylistic span, in both its language and music. Different song traditions and different forms of expression stand side by side to cover the many needs of worship and to accommodate different users.
Most strongly represented are songs from the Nordic Lutheran churches, reflected in the fact that the lyricists with the most original contributions wrote in either Norwegian or Swedish (with contributions by
Svein Ellingsen
Svein Ørnulf Ellingsen (13 July 1929 – 5 April 2020) was a Norwegian visual artist and hymnist.
Biography
Ellingsen was born in Kongsberg to Fritz Frølich Ellingsen and Karoline Enge. His books include the poetry collections ''Det skjulte nà ...
,Henkys, Jürgen. 2013. ''Dichtung, Bibel und Gesangbuch: Hymnologische Beiträge in dritter Folge''. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, p. 242.
Anders Frostenson
Anders Frostenson (23 April 1906 in Loshult, Sweden – 4 April 2006) was a Swedish hymnwriter, priest, and writer. He was a paternal uncle of Katarina Frostenson
Alma Katarina Frostenson Arnault (born 5 March 1953) is a Swedish poet and w ...
Kristin Solli Schøien
Kristin Solli Schøien (born July 14, 1954 in Oslo) is a Norwegians, Norwegian author and composer.
Schøien studied at NLA University College, the University of Oslo, and the Norwegian Academy of Music. She is especially known for her hymnwritin ...
, and
Eyvind Skeie
Eyvind Skeie (born 5 November 1947) is a Norwegian priest and author.Eyvind Skeie in ). However, its breadth is manifested in the fact that over 150 different lyricists and almost as many composers are represented.
In addition to the Nordic Lutheran tradition, the volume includes a wide selection of songs from the revival movement, newer songs used in youth groups, and well-known Christian children's songs. Increased international contacts between churches in Norway and the rest of the world also resulted in the inclusion of songs from churches in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...