In 1995, Marita Akhøj Nielsen, a specialist on Thomas Kingo, wrote that the hymnist was the earliest Danish poet who is well known today. Kingo's hymns, even if abridged, are still sung in Danish churches and schools. One hymn in particular has gained preeminence--"Far, Verden, Farvel" (Fare, World, Farewell, 1681). That eloquent hymn must be included in any baroque anthology.

In Jørgen-Frantz Jacobsen's erotic novel Barbara (1939; translated, 1948), which takes place in the eighteenth century, the hymn completely dominates one chapter. The congregation of the Faroese town of Thorshavn assembles in a small church to listen to its Lutheran minister. As he preaches, he glances out a window and realizes that his wife is engaged in a tryst with a friend of the house. That discovery inspires him to preach with a vigor that surprises and impresses his congregation, whose members are then asked to sing...