"Kong Christian stod ved højen mast" (; ), or simply "Kong Christian", is the unofficial
royal anthem of
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
that officially has equal status of national anthem together with "
Der er et yndigt land
"" (; ) is one of the two national anthems of Denmark—the other being the royal anthem "Kong Christian stod ved højen mast".
History
The lyrics were written in 1819 by Adam Oehlenschläger and bore the motto in (Horace: "This corner of the ...
".
However, it is almost exclusively used regarding the
Danish royal house and the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
. The theme of the song is the heroics of Danish and Norwegian sailors during the
wars against Sweden (including the
Torstenson War) in the 17th and 18th centuries.
On New Year's Eve, it is tradition to sing along as the
Danmarks Radio
DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enter ...
Girl's Choir sings the song on television immediately after midnight following the other national anthem. Usually, only the first verse is sung on official occasions. Adopted in 1780, it is one of the oldest national anthems in the world.
History
History of the lyrics
The lyrics first appeared in May 1778
in
Johannes Ewald's vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
play ''The Fishermen'', which premiered at the
Royal Danish Theatre in January 1780 on the birthday of
King Christian VII. The play depicts the heroics of fishermen from the northern part of
Zealand
Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...
, who saved many sailors from drowning and then refused to accept a reward for it.
[Ove Malling: "Store og gode Handlinger af Danske, Norske og Holstenere", Copenhagen 1777 (Reprinted 1992), pp. 64–70] For this reason, the play was seen as a tribute to the navy, particularly because of the King Christian song. In the original staging, however, only the final fourth verse was ever sung. The first three verses were omitted because of the animosity they showed towards
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, which at the time was an important ally against the United Kingdom as a member of the
League of Armed Neutrality.
Theme
The theme of the song is the heroics of Danish-Norwegian sailors during the wars against Sweden in the 17th and 18th centuries. It specifically names the Danish-Norwegian naval heroes
King Christian IV,
Niels Juel and
Peter Wessel Tordenskiold. The first verse refers to the 1644
Battle of Colberger Heide, where King Christian IV was hurt by shrapnel and thought to be dead but quickly got to his feet and incited his crew to continue the battle.
History of the music
It has long been debated who composed the song's music.
Johann Hartmann, the composer who wrote the score for the original play ''Fiskerne'', where the lyrics first appeared, was originally credited with composing the music.
Another suggestion was that Johannes Ewald's friend, High Court judge
Ditlev Ludvig Rogert, known to have played the violin, had been the original composer. This claim was backed up by several 19th-century intellectuals. In 1880,
Vilhelm Carl Ravn presented his theory that the score significantly preceded Ewald's poem and had no one particular composer. This is the most commonly supported theory today.
However, even today, the score is often wrongly credited to
Friedrich Kuhlau. Kuhlau made "King Christian" a popular anthem by using his own arrangement of the score in his play ''
Elverhøj'',
which premiered at the wedding between Crown Prince Frederik (the later
King Frederik VII) and
Princess Vilhelmine in November 1828.
Lyrics
See also
*
Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem – a musical piece by Tchaikovsky composed for the visit of the
tsarevich
Tsarevich (, ) was a title given to the sons of tsars. The female equivalent was ''tsarevna''.
Under the 1797 Pauline Laws, Pauline house laws, the title was discontinued and replaced with ''tsesarevich'' for the heir apparent alone. His younger ...
to the Moscow Conservatoire accompanied by his new Danish wife. The piece is based on ''Kong Christian stod ved højen mast'' but also incorporates elements of the Russian national anthem.
References
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kong Christian stod ved hojen mast
Danish anthems
Royal anthems
Cultural depictions of Christian IV of Denmark
Songs about kings
Monarchy of Denmark
Compositions in B-flat major
Historical national anthems
Denmark–Norway