The Gold Horns

In this rare recording you’ll hear a once‑lost Danish lyric brought to English ears through a careful 1913 transcription of a private manuscript. The piece, known as The Gold Horns, marks a pivotal moment when Scandinavian poetry turned toward Romantic ideals, echoing the power of Coleridge’s sea‑ballads in its own northern mythic tone. Listeners are treated to the translator’s modest yet earnest effort to capture the original’s melody and the scholarly commentary that frames its cultural importance.

The story behind the poem shines as dramatically as its verses. Young poet Adam Oehlenschläger, spurred by a midnight encounter with philosopher Henrik Steffens, abandons a lucrative neoclassical commission and summons the image of two ancient golden horns—once melted, now destined to reappear in a romantic epoch. As the verses unfold, you’ll sense his sudden conversion, a celebration of myth, heritage, and the fervent imagination that reshaped Danish literature.