Midsummer visas

Midsommervisen is the common name for the Danish poem and song " Vi elsker vort land ", which was written in 1885 by Holger Drachmann . The melody comes from Peter Erasmus Lange-Müller and was composed in the same year. The song was originally created for the fairy tale drama Der var engang written , which in Kongelige Teater Det in Copenhagen in 1887 premiered. The song is heard in the last act, where a hunter sings it at the wedding of the Danish prince.

The first three verses have been sung at celebrations for St. John's Day ( midsummer festival ) on June 23rd since the beginning of the 20th century .

Shu-bi-dua published a version of the song under the name Midsommersangen on the album Shu-bi-dua 7 in 1980 , for which the band composed an easier-to-sing melody to Drachmann's lyrics. This version is often sung instead of the original version.

In 2006, midsummer visas were included in the Danish cultural canon .

Web links

• Vi elsker vort land on the homepage of the Danish Royal Library (Danish)
• Midsommervisen: Historien om en ildebrand , article in Kristeligt Dagblad (Danish)