Sissel Kyrkjebø - Mitt hjerte alltid vanker

Sissel Kyrkjebø performing "Mitt hjerte alltid vanker" ("My Heart Always Wanders") at a TV-concert from Røros Church, Norway in 2007. Click on CC for English subtitles.

"Mitt hjerte alltid vanker" ("My Heart Always Wanders") is an old Scandinavian Christmas song, released as a single with Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø in 1995. It is one of several versions of the originally Danish hymn, which has since been translated and set to different melodies in the different Scandinavian countries. Kyrkjebø sings a Norwegian translation set to a Norwegian variant of a Swedish folk melody, which was first written down in 1816 in Västergötland in Sweden. This is the version is the most popular in Norway and Sweden. It was written by Danish bishop and hymn writer Hans Adolph Brorson and first came out in print in 1732. In Denmark, the most popular version of this song is set to the melody composed by Carl Nielsen, with Thomas Laub's correspondence. Nielsen also had assistance with Paul Hellmuth in making the harmonies for the song.

Sissel, the international singing sensation from Norway, is widely regarded as one of the finest and most talented sopranos in the world. Her crystalclear voice has made Sissel a national institution in Norway. Sissel has sung all over the world, selling over ten million solo albums. She contributed the haunting vocal tracks for the soundtrack to Titanic. She has been doing great duets with singers like Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Bryn Terfel, Jose Carreras, Russell Watson, Mario Frangoulis, Josh Groban, Neil Sedaka and Charles Aznavour. A very remarkable voice you will only hear once in your lifetime.

MITT HJERTE ALLTID VANKER

Mitt hjerte alltid vanker
i Jesu føderom,
der samles mine tanker
som i sin hovedsum.
Der er min lengsel hjemme,
der har min tro sin skatt;
jeg kan deg aldri glemme
velsignet julenatt!

Akk, kom jeg opp vil lukke
mitt hjerte og mitt sinn
og full av lengsel sukke:
Kom, Jesus, dog herinn!
Det er ei fremmed bolig,
du har den selv jo kjøpt,
så skal du blive trolig
her i mitt hjerte svøpt.

Jeg gjerne palemgrene
vil om din krybbe strø,
for deg, for deg alene
jeg leve vil og dø.
Kom, la min sjel dog finne
sin rette gledes stund,
at du er født herinne
i hjertets dype grunn.