"Hosianna Davids Son" -- a favorite Swedish hymn for Advent

One of the hymns we sang -- in Swedish! -- at the service for the Festival of Sankta Lucia at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Chicago was "Hosianna Davids son." It wasn't in the 1819 psalmbook, but 19th-century Swedish immigrants knew it and it was commonly sung as a choir anthem [need to locate this reference] -- and Lars Paul Esbjorn has an elaborate four-part arrangement of it in siffernoter in the Esbjorn Family Papers at Augie.

Worth learning for Jenny Lind Chapel workshop. Some clips:

Uploaded by YouTube user benedicte5928 -- "swedish christmas song - chant de noël suédois" -- Berlaymont Dec. 15, 2010 -- in Brussels [?] -- apparently part of an international Christmas program

Hosianna Davids son performed by Gardeskapellet from The Swedish Army Band. From a Christmas concert on Swedish television (STV) 24 December 2009. Recorded live 16 December 2009.

There's also a clip on Hogfiddle at http://hogfiddle.blogspot.com/2013/09/misc-swedish-pioneer-reminiscences.html of its being sung at the summer meeting of the Swedish Lutheran charismatic movement Oasrörelsen in Borås in 2009.

From service folder at Ebenezer church.

The Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland has music on line in its Swedish psalmbook (No. 1) -- lyrics, in Swedish, and melody in G. You can print it out in Microsoft Word by clicking on logo captioned Psalm1.doc.

The best account of the song's background is the commentary in the Finnish hymnbook:

Georg Joseph Vogler (1749–1814) var född i Würzburg och son till en violinbyggare. Ibland kallas Vogler för "abbé Vogler", eftersom han var katolsk präst. Trots att Vogler var präst, blev han ändå mera känd bl.a. som organist och orgelbyggare, kompositör, lärare och kapellmästare. Vogler arbetade som kapellmästare vid Kungliga Teatern i Stockholm i tretton år, och under den tiden blev Hosianna till. Hans sätt att leda musik var mycket engagerande och någon har också påstått att hans orgelkonserter hade något av cirkus över sig. Den 20 mars 1796 gav Vogler en konsert i S:ta Clara kyrka i Stockholm med ett verk som skildrade Kristi lidandes historia, där Hosianna ingår i andra satsen av tio. Det skulle förmodligen bli en kulturkrock om man sjöng Hosianna i våra kyrkor på palmsöndagen, så pass mycket förknippas denna sång med advent och jul. Sången är inte alls känd i kompositörens hemland. Det är i Sverige och Finland som den används och har en mycket stark ställning bland allmänheten. [Google trans.: Georg Joseph Vogler (1749-1814) was born in Würzburg and the son of a violin maker . Sometimes called Vogler for " Abbe Vogler ," because he was a Catholic priest . Although Vogler was a priest , he became still more known among other things, organist and organ builder , composer , teacher and conductor . Vogler worked as a conductor at the Royal Theatre in Stockholm thirteen years, and during that time became Hosanna to . His way of leading music was very engaging and someone has also stated that his organ concerts had something of a circus over him . On March 20, 1796 Vogler gave a concert in St. Clara Church in Stockholm with a work depicting the Passion story, where Hosanna included in the second batch of ten. It would probably be a culture clash if you sang Hosanna in our churches on Palm Sunday , so much associated this song with Advent and Christmas. The song is not at all known in the composer's homeland. It is in Sweden and Finland are in use and has a very strong position among the public.]

Emory Lindquist. "A Swedish Immigrant Woman Views Her Home in Kansas, 1870-1881: The Letters and Diary of Ida Nibeius Lindgren." Swedish Pioneer Historical Society 16.1 (January 1965) 3-17. http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/npu_sahq&CISOPTR=3083&CISOBOX=1&REC=14/

However, there were times of joy for Ida Lindgren amidst the austerity of life. The first Christmas in Kansas was spent in the home of Ida's brother, Magnus Nibelius, and his wife, Johanna. They sang familiar Swedish psalms and the well known Christmas anthem, Hosianna. Ida was surprised and pleased to receive a rocking chair from her husband. Included among her other gifts were two vegetable dishes, three dozen clothes pins, a pair of gloves, a knitting bag, and some cloth to cover a small sofa belonging to the children. Ida gave her hosts a soft pillow and two pictures of Gustaf Vasa which had been brought from Sweden. The relatives also received two drinking glasses, some [8] clothes pins, and miscellaneous items. A group of Swedish people celebrated New Year's Day at the Lindgrens. Ida really wondered how they had been able to house and pro- vide meals for sixteen people with their limited facilities.

Christmas 1873 was a festive occasion for the Lindgrens when they were joined by Magnus and Johanna Nibelius. After drinking coffee during the afternoon of Christmas Eve, the Christmas tree, cut from nearby woods, and dec- orated with the Swedish flag at the top and twenty-four candles, was lit. The tree was also adorned with apples, nuts, candy, and raisins. Magnus furnished accompaniment for the Christmas songs on his harmonica. There were only a few gifts that Christmas but spirits were high.(7-8)