"Kong Christian stod ved højen mast" (Danish: [kʰʌŋ ˈkʰʁestjæn ˈstoðˀ ve̝ ˈhʌjˀn̩ mæst]; lit. 'King Christian Stood by the Lofty Mast'), or simply "Kong Christian", is the unofficial royal anthem of Denmark that officially has equal status of national anthem together with "Der er et yndigt land". However, it is almost exclusively used regarding the Danish royal house and the military. 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.
| English: 'King Christian Stood by the Lofty Mast' | |
|---|---|
 King Christian IV on the "Trinity" in the Battle of Colberger Heide, 1644 | |
National and royal anthem of Denmark | |
| Also known as | Kong Christian Kongesangen (English: 'The King's Anthem') |
| Lyrics | Johannes Ewald, 1778 |
| Music | unknown |
| Adopted | 1780 |
| Audio sample | |
Kong Christian stod ved højen mast (instrument)
| |
On New Year's Eve, it is tradition to sing along as the Danmarks Radio 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 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, who saved many sailors from drowning and then refused to accept a reward for it. 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, who at the time was an important ally against the United Kingdom as a member of the League of Armed Neutrality.[citation needed]
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, 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
| Danish original | IPA transcription | English translation[citation needed] (by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) |
|---|---|---|
Kong Christian stod ved højen mast | [kʰɔŋ ˈkʰʁes.tjæn stoðˀ ʋeð ˈhɔ.jən mæst] | King Christian stood by the lofty mast |
See also
- Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem – a musical piece by Tchaikovsky composed for the visit of the tsarevich 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
- Udenrigsministeriet (6 August 2001). "Instruks for Udenrigstjenesten". Retsinformation. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- "Not one but two national anthems". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
- "Tekstens historie og den tidligste melodi". Royal Danish Library. Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
- Ove Malling: "Store og gode Handlinger af Danske, Norske og Holstenere", Copenhagen 1777 (Reprinted 1992), pp. 64–70
- "Spørgsmålet om komponisten". Royal Danish Library. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
- "Kongesang". Royal Danish Library. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
Notes
- See Help:IPA/Danish.
Kong Christian stod ved hojen mast Danish kʰʌŋ ˈkʰʁestjaen ˈstodˀ ve ˈhʌjˀn maest lit King Christian Stood by the Lofty Mast or simply Kong Christian is the unofficial royal anthem of Denmark that officially has equal status of national anthem together with Der er et yndigt land However it is almost exclusively used regarding the Danish royal house and the military 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 Kong Christian stod ved hojen mastEnglish King Christian Stood by the Lofty Mast King Christian IV on the Trinity in the Battle of Colberger Heide 1644National and royal anthem of DenmarkAlso known asKong Christian Kongesangen English The King s Anthem LyricsJohannes Ewald 1778MusicunknownAdopted1780Audio sample source source track track track track track track Kong Christian stod ved hojen mast instrument filehelp On New Year s Eve it is tradition to sing along as the Danmarks Radio 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 HistoryHistory of the lyrics The lyrics first appeared in May 1778 in Johannes Ewald s vaudeville 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 who saved many sailors from drowning and then refused to accept a reward for it 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 who at the time was an important ally against the United Kingdom as a member of the League of Armed Neutrality citation needed 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 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 Elverhoj which premiered at the wedding between Crown Prince Frederik the later King Frederik VII and Princess Vilhelmine in November 1828 LyricsDanish original IPA transcription English translation citation needed by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Kong Christian stod ved hojen mast i rog og damp hans vaerge hamrede sa fast at gotens hjelm og hjerne brast Da sank hvert fjendtligt spejl og mast i rog og damp Fly skreg de fly hvad flygte kan hvo star for Danmarks Christian hvo star for Danmarks Christian i kamp Niels Juel gav agt pa stormens brag Nu er det tid Han hejsede det rode flag og slog pa fjenden slag i slag Da skreg de hojt blandt stormens brag Nu er det tid Fly skreg de hver som ved et skjul hvo kan besta mod Danmarks Juel hvo kan besta mod Danmarks Juel i strid O Nordhav Glimt af Wessel brod din morke sky Da ty de kaemper til dit skod thi med ham lynte skraek og dod Fra valen hortes vral som brod den tykke sky Fra Danmark lyner Tordenskjold hver give sig i himlens vold hver give sig i himlens vold og fly Du danskes vej til ros og magt sortladne hav Modtag din ven som uforsagt tor mode faren med foragt sa stolt som du mod stormens magt sortladne hav Og rask igennem larm og spil og kamp og sejr for mig til og kamp og sejr for mig til min grav kʰɔŋ ˈkʰʁes tjaen stodˀ ʋed ˈhɔ jen maest i ʁɔjˀ ɒ w d ɑmˀp haens ˈʋɛɐ we ˈhɑm ʁ ɐ de sɔ faest aet ˈɡ oˀ tˢens jɛlˀm ɒ w ˈjɛɐ ne b ʁaest d ae sɑŋˀk ʋɛɐ ˀt ˈfjend lit spɑjˀl ɒ w maest i ʁɔjˀ ɒ w d ɑmˀp flyˀ skʁɑjˀ d i flyˀ ʋaed ˠ ˈfloɡ te kʰaenˀ voːˀ stɒˀ fɔ ˈd aen mɑks ˈkʰʁes ti aen voːˀ stɒˀ fɔ ˈd aen mɑks ˈkʰʁes ti aen i kʰɑmˀp nelˀs juːl ɡ ɛˀʋ ɑɡ t pʰɔ ˈstɒː mens b ʁɑˀw nu ɛɐ d e tˢiˀd haen ˈhɑj se de d e ˈʁoː de fl aeˀ j ɒw sl oˀ pʰɔ ˈfjen nˀen ˈsl aeˀ j i ˈsl aeˀ j d ae skʁɑjˀ d i hɔjˀt b laenˀt ˈstɒː mens b ʁɑˀw nu ɛɐ d e tˢiˀd flyˀ skʁɑjˀ d i ʋɛˀɐ sʌm ʋedˀ e t skjuˀl voːˀ kʰaenˀ b e ˈstɔˀ moˀd ˈd aen mɑks juːl voːˀ kʰaenˀ b e ˈstɔˀ moˀd ˈd aen mɑks juːl i stʁidˀ oˀ ˈnoɐ hɑw ɡ lemˀt a ˈʋɛ sel b ʁœdˀ d iːˀn ˈmɶɐ ke skyˀ d ae tˢyː de ˈkʰɛm pɐ tˢel d it skod tˢi mɛd hɑ mˀ lyn te skʁae j k ɒ w d oˀd fʁ ɑ ˈʋaeː len hoɐ ˀ tes ʋʁɔːˀl sɔm b ʁœdˀ d ɛnˀ tˢy ke skyˀ fʁ ɑ ˈd aen mɑk ˈlyː nɐ ˈtˢoɐ d en ˌskjʌlˀ ʋɛˀɐ ˈɡ iː ʋe sɑj i ˈhem lens ʋʌlˀ ʋɛˀɐ ˈɡ iː ʋe sɑj i ˈhem lens ʋɔlˀ ɒw flyˀ d u ˈd aens kes ʋɑjˀ tˢel ʁoˀs ɒ w mɑɡ t ˈsoɐ t ˌlaeːd ne hɑw ˈmoˀd tˢaeˀ j d iːˀn ʋɛn sʌm ˈu fɔ ˌsɑɡ t tˢɶɐ ˈmoː de ˈfɑː ʁen mɛd fɔ ˈɑɡ t sʌ stɔlˀt sɔm d u moˀd stɒː mens mɑɡ t ˈsoɐ t ˌlaeːd ne hɑw ɒw ʁask i ɡ ɛ n nˀem lɑːˀm ɒ w spel ɒ w kʰɑmˀp ɒ w sɑjˀɐ foɐ ˀ mɑ j tˢel ɒ w kʰɑmˀp ɒ w sɑjˀɐ foɐ ˀ mɑj tˢel miːˀn ɡ ʁɑwˀ King Christian stood by the lofty mast In mist and smoke His sword was hammering so fast Through Gothic helm and brain it passed Then sank each hostile hulk and mast In mist and smoke Fly shouted they fly he who can Who braves of Denmark s Christian Who braves of Denmark s Christian The stroke Niels Juel gave heed to the tempest s roar Now is the hour He hoisted his blood red flag once more And smote upon the foe full sore And shouted loud through the tempest s roar Now is the hour Fly shouted they for shelter fly Of Denmark s Juel who can defy Of Denmark s Juel who can defy The power North Sea a glimpse of Wessel rent Thy murky sky Then champions to thine arms were sent Terror and Death glared where he went From the waves was heard a wail that rent Thy murky sky From Denmark thunders Tordenskiol Let each to Heaven commend his soul Let each to Heaven commend his soul And fly Path of the Dane to fame and might Dark rolling wave Receive thy friend who scorning flight Goes to meet danger with despite Proudly as thou the tempest s might Dark rolling wave And mid pleasures and alarms And war and victory be thine arms And war and victory be thine arms My grave See alsoFestival Overture on the Danish National Anthem a musical piece by Tchaikovsky composed for the visit of the tsarevich to the Moscow Conservatoire accompanied by his new Danish wife The piece is based on Kong Christian stod ved hojen mast but also incorporates elements of the Russian national anthem ReferencesUdenrigsministeriet 6 August 2001 Instruks for Udenrigstjenesten Retsinformation Retrieved 30 June 2013 Not one but two national anthems Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Archived from the original on 15 May 2014 Retrieved 19 May 2014 Tekstens historie og den tidligste melodi Royal Danish Library Archived from the original on 10 April 2010 Retrieved 20 August 2008 Ove Malling Store og gode Handlinger af Danske Norske og Holstenere Copenhagen 1777 Reprinted 1992 pp 64 70 Sporgsmalet om komponisten Royal Danish Library Archived from the original on 15 April 2010 Retrieved 20 August 2008 Kongesang Royal Danish Library Archived from the original on 15 April 2010 Retrieved 20 August 2008 Notes See Help IPA Danish
