Carl Nielsen's rhapsody overture An Imaginary Trip to the Faroe Islands (En Fantasirejse til Færøerne), is a musical composition for orchestra. The Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen commissioned the piece for a gala concert celebrating a visit from the Faroe Islands. The composer conducted the premiere on 27 November 1927. Background In a letter to his wife dated 4 January 1927, Nielsen wrote: "Now over the next 8-10 days I have to write an overture to mark a big Faroese gala at the Royal Theatre supported by the State... I will use motifs from the Faroese ballads, and I can easily manage that, and it will give me some pleasure as it is good that we do something for them." In fact the visit was postponed until November owing to an influenza epidemic. There were only two performances of the work during Nielsen's lifetime, both of them in connection with the Faroese celebrations. The first was at the Royal Theatre on 27 November 1927, the second at a concert in Copenhagen City Hall with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra. Music A couple of days before the gala performance on 27 November 1927, a long interview with Nielsen was published in Politiken where the composer had the opportunity to comment on his music. After all, it’s just an occasional work, an example of workmanship if you like... but I have personally been happy working with it and I think it has come to sound very good. I have used many of the Faroese melodies in it, but the introduction and ending are free composition." He then goes on to describe the voyage: "I begin by describing the sea, as you feel it during the crossing – the monotonous mighty sea. It is quiet, but I think that it is precisely when the sea is calm that you most strongly sense its terrible depth... its depth and endlessness at the same time. During the voyage, we suddenly hear a bird cry that makes us think that we are near land. Of course, generally speaking, I am no great lover of programme music, but this time I think that the occasion called for a programme for the journey... some people on board now seem to see land, they get enthusiastic, a fanfare tells you, but the mist obscures the view, and it quietens down again. Then new bird cries rise up, and the land