Disc 1 - The Fog Is Lifting, Op. 41-James Galway/Carl Nielsen

Rode's play is a fairy-tale allegory about the return of a kidnapped son. The famous melody for flute and harp, Tågen letter (The Fog is Lifting), accompanies the first scene in which the King sees a mother parting from her son through the rising fog. The King instructs his Bard and his Fool to go out into the world and return in one year with joyful news. The Bard thinks of the beautiful Princess Tove, whose praises he sings in the light, spirited song, Min pige er så lys som rav (My girl is fair as amber), portraying her as a beautiful personification of Denmark. The Fool, however, expresses his cynicism in the song Dengang ørnen var flyveklar (The day the eagle was ready to fly). The music here is sharp, edgy, with occasional moments of dissonance, and its refrain snarls, "Strong is the eagle, broad are its wings: hatred is strongest!"The fourth scene opens with a prelude: long, mournful cadences from the strings and muted wailing from the horns are permeated with unsettling melodic twists and turns. The Bard's song Så bitter var mit hjerte (So bitter was my heart), describes the lonely, frozen country around him and calls for the return of spring. When the West Wind responds, with great fanfare, by blowing down a wall of ice, the lost son appears. All return to the King's court, where they take part in a glorious procession, accompanied by Nielsen's beloved "March" with its fiery, patriotic spirit and its ceremonious yet joyous tone. People representing different regions of Denmark join in, symbolically welcoming mother and son. The entire company closes with the anthem-like song, Som en rejselysten flåde ("Like a venturous fleet at anchor").