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Music of Denmark
Celtic fiddle and pipes, sean-nós singing, Nordic polska and Sámi joik, kulning herding calls, Baltic runo-song and kantele.
Sung and searched in Danish. The YouTube button above can run your search in that language.
A brief history
Origins
The earliest traces of Danish music go back to the many twisting Bronze-Age horns or lurs which some experts have identified as musical instruments. They have been discovered in various parts of Scandinavia, mostly Denmark, since the end of the 18th century.
In his Gesta Danorum (c.1200), historian Saxo Grammaticus refers to the power that music had over King Erik the Kind-Hearted. In the 13th and early 14th centuries, German minnesingers such as Tannhäuser and Frauenlob sang in the Danish courts. The Codex Runicus (c.1300) contains a verse written in runes with a non-rhythmic musical notation. The first line is Drømdæ mik æn drøm i nat (I Dreamed Me a Dream Last Night). There is also evidence that English monks came to Denmark to sing at a celebration commemorating St Canute, who died in 1086. In 1145, Lund Cathedral received Scandinavia's first choir statues, and by 1330 it was one of the larger churches to have an organ installed.
Popular music
Contemporary composers
In addition to those specialising in rock, folk and electronic music, Denmark has a number of contemporary composers who have been successful in writing classical music covering a variety of genres. Among the most successful are:
Niels Viggo Bentzon (1919-2000) who wrote in a largely neoclassical style 24 symphonies, 16 string quartets, 31 piano sonatas, operas and many more works. Per Nørgård (1932–2025) has composed works in all major genres: six operas including Gilgamesh, two ballets, eight symphonies including a choral symphony, and other pieces for orchestra, several concertos, choral and vocal works, an enormous number of chamber works, ten string quartets and several solo instrumental works. The conductor Sergiu Celibidache once precisely expressed the potential of Nørgård's large-scale, faultless creation: "Only the mind of a new time in the new millennium will be able to understand the scope of Nørgård’s music." Anders Koppel (born 1947) has had an extremely versatile career in rock, classical and world music.
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Live radio
Radio from Denmark
Music only, no news or talk. Stations that play the local tradition come first, then the most listened. They play in the corner of the page.
Station directory by Radio Browser Streams come from each station's own server.