Kim André Arnesen

Now shine a thousand Christmas lights

The third movement of Kim André Arnesen’s Nordic Christmas, a collection of new arrangements of carols originating in Nordic countries. This carol captures the mood of Christmas Eve in those countries when, under the dark blue skies, people are lit by Christmas candles. In the darkest time of the year in this part of the world, the message that God has sent Jesus Christ to the world goes to "every heart that’s cold and dark", and, as Bethlehem’s star once led the wise men, Jesus will be our guiding light. This beautiful and evocative carol was written by Emmy Köhler in 1898. It has become one of the most popular ones in Sweden in churches, at schools and at home, and appeared in various songbooks. In 1943 the carol was chosen by the King to be one of the mandatory songs that schoolchildren in Sweden had to sing by heart. Arnesen’s beautiful arrangement for intermediate SATB choir, with limited divisi, and piano (or ensemble) accompaniment can be performed in a Nordic language or English