Who knew that the Finnish master, Jean Sibelius, so dreaded the darkest time of the year? Finland’s kind of a bad place to live, then, don’t you think?

The composer once confided to his secretary, “The darkest weeks of the year, from my birthday [December 8] until Christmas, when the sun is at its lowest, are always a difficult time for me.”

I could say it’s a difficult time for me, too, but for entirely different reasons!

They aren’t exactly sung in the streets here in the United States, but Sibelius’ Christmas songs are some of the most beloved in Finland.

He compiled five of them, written between 1897 and 1913, and published them in 1915 as his Opus 1.

The best-known of these is the fourth of the set, “En Etsi Valtaa Loistoa” (“I seek not power, glory or gold”), which he composed in 1909.

The text is by Zacharias Topelius:

I seek not power, glory or gold,
I wish for the light of Heaven and peace on Earth.
Let Christmas bring happiness and put us in mind of heavenly things.
Neither power nor gold but peace on Earth.

May the wonder of Christmas come to both poor and rich;
Into Earth’s darkness bring the light of Heaven.
For you I yearn, you I await, Lord of Earth and Heaven,
Now bring sweet Christmas to poor and rich.

Here it is arranged for male chorus, followed by the fifth of the set, “High are the snowdrifts.”

“High are the snowdrifts” for women’s voices

“I seek not power” in a jazzy arrangement, played in a snowy field!

A glimpse into the Sibelius home at Christmas:

https://finland.fi/christmas/christmas-with-the-sibelius-family/

Happy, happy birthday and Merry Christmas, Jean Sibelius!