Elverskud

The earliest information on Elverskud is a mention in a letter from Gade in 1849, in which he wrote that he had allowed Hans Christian Andersen to prepare a text.

The next person who turned his hand to this text was Christian Molbech in whose papers there is a version that is closer to the final one, which by all accounts was developed by Gade's cousin Carl Andersen and the editor Gottlieb Siesby, while the atmospheric choral interlude "I østen stiger solen op" was written already in 1837 by B. S. Ingemann and received a tune by C. E. F. Weyse the same year.

On 30 March 1854, it was first performed at a subscription concert at the Musikforeningen, presented as a ballad for soloist, choir and orchestra.

According to a statement in Inger Sørensen's book, it was performed at least 184 times in Gade's life, a success unparalleled by other Danish composers.

The work remains popular today, and two of the songs, "I østen stiger solen op" and "Så tit jeg rider mig under ø" are often played as single pieces.