“Psyche’s love and fervent devotion and faithfulness lead her through suffering and death to a higher world and to a higher, purer life; yet, it always tastes of bird, even if only the flapping of wings is heard.“ This is what Gade wrote in a letter to the Danish pastor and poet Christian Richardt when he gave him a vocal score for Christmas 1882.

After Niels W. Gade had completed his trilogy of choral works based on central narratives of European cultural history – “The Crusaders” (1866), “K...