"Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt" (in
Finnish: "En etsi valtaa, loistoa"; literal English translation: "Give Me No Splendor, Gold or Pomp"), also known simply as "Julvisa" (in English: "Christmas Carol"),
Op. 1/4, is an
art song for vocal soloist and
piano written in 1909 by the Finnish composer
Jean Sibelius, who set an 1887
Christmas carol by the Finnish poet
Zacharias Topelius. Late in his career, Sibelius made several arrangements of "Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt": for
male choira cappella in 1935; for voice and
female choira cappella in 1942; for two unaccompanied female voices in 1942; and for
children's choir and
organ in 1954.
Topelius's poem was originally published in Publicistklubben's magazine Julqvällen ("Christmas Eve"), and appears in the fourth volume of Topelius's Samlade skrifter ("Collected Works").[1]
In Finnish, the song's opening lines are "En etsi valtaa, loistoa" and the song was originally published in Finnish in 1909, probably with lyrics by
Martti Korpilahti [
fi], and was adopted in the 1986 Finnish hymnal, with lyrics by
Niilo Rauhala [
fi] in 1984. However, the older Finnish language-version had already become popular, and is commonly sung. The song is one of the most popular Christmas carols in Finland.[2]
Swedish
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