Editing Carl Nielsen (section)

=== Operas and cantatas ===
[[File:Saul og David (Carl Nielsen), Stockholm 1931.jpg|thumb|right|alt=photograph of Carl Nielsen in a suit linking arms with costumed members of the cast of Saul and David |Nielsen with the cast of ''Saul og David'', Stockholm, 1931]]
Nielsen's two operas are very different in style. The four-act {{lang|da|[[Saul og David]]}} (Saul and David), written in 1902 to a libretto by [[Einar Christiansen]], tells the [[Bible|Biblical]] story of [[Saul]]'s jealousy of the young [[David]] while {{lang|da|Maskarade}} (Masquerade) is a comic opera in three acts written in 1906 to a Danish [[libretto]] by [[Vilhelm Andersen]], based on the comedy by [[Ludvig Holberg]]. ''Saul and David'' received a negative press when it was premiered in November 1902 and did no better when it was revived in 1904. By contrast, in November 1906 ''Masquerade'' was a resounding success with an exceptional run of 25 performances over its first four months.{{sfn|''Carl Nielsen Edition: Saul og David''|pp=xi–xxx}}{{sfn|''Carl Nielsen Edition: Maskarade''|pp=xi–xxxvii}} Generally considered to be Denmark's national opera, in its home country it has enjoyed lasting success and popularity, attributable to its many [[Strophic form|strophic]] songs, its dances and its underlying "old Copenhagen" atmosphere.{{sfn|Schepelern|1987|pp=346–351}}

Nielsen wrote a considerable number of choral works but most of them were composed for special occasions and were seldom reprised. Three fully-fledged cantatas for soloists, orchestra and choir have, however, entered the repertoire. Nielsen composed {{lang|la|Hymnus amoris}} (''Hymn of Love''), Op. 12 (1897) after studying early polyphonic choral style. Writing in the newspaper ''Dannebrog'', Nanna Liebmann referred to the work as "a decisive victory" for Nielsen, and Angul Hammerich of ''[[Nationaltidende]]'' welcomed its improved clarity and purity. But the {{lang|da|[[Berlingske Tidende]]}} reviewer H.W. Schytte thought Nielsen had been pretentious presenting the lyrics in Latin rather than Danish.{{sfn|''Carl Nielsen Edition: Cantatas 1''|p=xiii}} {{lang|da|[[Søvnen]]}} (''The Sleep''), Op. 18, Nielsen's second major choral work, sets to music the various phases of sleep including the terror of a nightmare in its central movement which, with its unusual discords, came as a shock to the reviewers at its premiere in March 1905.{{sfn|''Carl Nielsen Edition: Cantatas 1''|p=xxi}} {{lang|da|[[Fynsk Foraar]]}} (''Springtime on Funen''), Op. 42, completed in 1922, has been cited as the most Danish of all Nielsen's compositions as it extols the beauty of Funen's countryside.{{sfn|''Carl Nielsen Edition: Cantatas 1''|p=xxvii}}