”It is Christmas Eve – ring, bell, ring, Bing, bang, bing – bing, bang,
bing. Soon the tree is lightened, make a ring, Dance and hum and sing!” There
is hardly any Faroese who does not immediately recognize the cheerful chorus of
the song "Hví man tað vera so hugnaligt í kvøld?" (Why is everything
so cozy tonight?). For five decades we have heard the two siblings Kári and
Elin Mouritsen sing the merry song, accompanied by guitar and banjo, from a
Christmas broadcast on Faroese radio in 1957. The two young singers have long
since grown up, like the rest of us, but the song about yearning for sun and
light in the midst of winter, still creates associations to the mythical
Christmas universe. The song was written by Christian Holm Isaksen (1877-1935),
commonly known as Kristin í Geil. Only 23 years old, he became editor of the
newly started national-oriented newspaper Tingakrossur. He stayed in this
position, with a few years interruption, until the early thirties, where he had
to stop because of illness. Kristin í Geil was known for his strong opinions,
and deviated from the usual national-romantic track in favor of the
naturalistic. He was a socialist and fought as a journalist for both national
autonomy as well as for worker rights and poor people’s conditions. As a
cultural figure, Kristin Geil also spread wide. He was one of the pioneers in
Faroese painting and there are still many paintings made by him, among other
places in the church of Sandavágur. Kristin was also an active amateur actor
and translated and wrote plays for the theater scene in Torshavn. He also
translated and wrote songs, and it might give you a glimpse of Kristin í Geil’s
composite personality to name the three best known - the Danish socialist
anthem, "Bratt lýsir í eystri" - "Kom og dansa" one of the
most romantic Faroese songs based on the waltz from The Merry Widow - and then
our own little Christmas song "Hví man tað vera ..?" On the front
page of Føringatíðindi's December edition in 1891 is a little poem entitled
Jola-Sálmur (Christmas Carol), signed FP. A rather anonymous presentation of
the song which more any other has become synonymous with Christmas - not just
in the Faroe Islands, but throughout the entire Christian World. The song,
whose original title is "Stille Nacht", was presented for the first
time on December 24th 1818 in Nikolaus-Kirche in Oberndorf, Austria. It was
written two years earlier by the priest Joseph Mohr - and for the service in
1818, he had asked the head master and composer Franz Xaver Gruber to compose a
melody for the poem. Gruber made an arrangement for guitar (unconfirmed stories
claiming that it was because the organ in the church did not work), and the
original arrangement was a bit merrier than we know it today, almost a dance
tune in 6/8 time. It did not take long before the song began to conquer the
World. In 1850 B.S. Ingemann translated it into Danish and in 1859 the American
Bishop John Freeman Young translated the song into English under the title
Silent Night - which today is the most familiar version. Exactly how many
versions of Stille Nacht exist today is not known with certainty, but we
believe that the figure is higher than 150. The initials FP stood for Fríðrikur
Petersen 1853 - 1917, who at that time was vicar in Suðuroy. Fríðrikur Petersen
became Bachelor of Divinity in Copenhagen 1880. After graduation he became
vicar on the island Sandoy. From 1885 he served in Suðuroy, and from 1900 until
his death in 1917 he was dean, based in Eysturoy. Fríðrikur Petersen was also a
politician and a member of the Faroese Parliament from 1890 and from 1900 with
a fixed seat in his capacity as dean. He was also a member of the Danish
Landsting in two periods, from 1894 - 1901 and again from 1906 until his death.
As a politician, Fríðrikur Petersen was conservative. In the great political
division in 1906, which marked the beginning of the first political parties, he
was one of the founders of “Sambandsflokkurin” (The Unionist Party) and was its
president until he died. From his early youth, Fríðrikur Petersen was
fascinated by the Faroese language. He was known as an eloquent speaker and
competent preacher, and wrote some of the most beautiful songs and hymns of the
national-romantic era. Among others the patriotic song "Eg oyggjar
veit", which for a while was the unofficial national anthem. He translated
the Lord's Prayer and the Articles of Faith into Faroese, but in the conflict
that arose regarding the church language and whether the Bible should be
translated into Faroese, he came to appear as an opponent to the Faroese
language in the church. The question is whether he had any choice. As a church
official, he had to keep to the standard requirement of an authorized
translation from the original languages – a task that there was no capacity to
perform in those days. Kristin í Geil and Fríðrikur Petersen - two very
different men - and two very different songs on the same topic. But at least
they had one thing in common - they both enriched Faroese culture and language
with their talent.
Technical Details
Issue Date: 24.09.2012
Designer: Anker Eli Petersen
Printer: LM Group, Canada
Process: Offset
Colours: 4 Colours
Size: 270 x 40,00 mm
Values: 6.50Kr, 12.50Kr
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