looms ahead. The music grows in volume and seriousness and breaks into a Faroese melody; on the shore many people are waiting to welcome us, and we hear them shouting and stamping. With no explanatory transition, I now place the traveller in the midst of a feast, with singing and dancing. I depict this feast in powerful music, where the ballad motifs play a role – and the depiction of the feast is interrupted by a Faroese folk tune. It calms down the music for a moment, creates a mood of gentleness amidst the dancing. But again, the feast livens up to dancing and merriment, until the end – then it all subsides in one long note, a very low clarinet note that quietly fades away... When asked how he became acquainted with Faroese tunes, Nielsen explained: They have interested me for many years. I knew Hjalmar Thuren, who collected many of them out there, getting people to sing them for him, and I have studied Dr. Grüner-Nielsen's large collection. Many of the songs are very beautiful, and they have a wealth of songs on the Faroe Islands. They are often closely related to the Danish ones, but with small variations – just as there are variants of the old texts that Svend Grundtvig collected. But some of the melodies also have their own tone. It’s borne up by a certain quiet seriousness. It reminds me of people who go around quietly and yet have a strong effect on others because behind the calm you sense solid substance. You can’t call Faroese song melancholy – rather, it gives the impression of a mind that is resigned to the will of Fate. It is these melodies that I have had as material... they have set the tone for my overture. I did not create so much of it myself through any spiritual experience, and yet the work has filled me with pleasure. I have tried to offer some of the same spirit that the painter or sculptor creates when he places his abilities at the service of applied art. The programme for the concert listed the following subtitles for the work: The Calm Sea The Land on Arrival Dancing and Singing Farewell Calm at Sea References Compositions by Carl Nielsen Incidental music 1927 compositions