Salmer 1997 (1997 Hymns) is an official supplement to the Church of Norway's 1985 hymnal that was published in 1997.
[4] Stylistically, it has a broad range of material, and the volume includes works by a number of composers and lyricists that are not represented in the 1985 hymnal.
Approximately half of the songs were written after 1980; that is, after the selection for the 1985 hymnal had largely been completed.
The foreword to the book states: Salmer 1997 has a broad stylistic span, in both its language and music.
Different song traditions and different forms of expression stand side by side to cover the many needs of worship and to accommodate different users.Most strongly represented are songs from the Nordic Lutheran churches, reflected in the fact that the lyricists with the most original contributions wrote in either Norwegian or Swedish (with contributions by Svein Ellingsen,[5] Anders Frostenson (Swedish), Britt G. Hallqvist (Swedish),[4] Gerd Grønvold Saue, Kristin Solli Schøien, and Eyvind Skeie[4]).