Vuelie (from "Frozen") and Eatnemen Vuelie

Today I am grateful for a small yet significant musical discovery. This discovery really appeals to my "music nerd" side, and it is a reminder of significant spiritual truth.

 A friend of mine (a fellow music and Disney lover) showed me the origins of that "chant' song that begins Disney's "Frozen."

The song, Vuelie, is indeed based on an old Norwegian style of music, called joik. The composer, Frode Fjellheim, wrote a song in 1996 called Eatnemen Vuelie, which means "Song of the Earth." Cantus, an all-female choir from Norway, recorded the song in 2011 and it became the inspiration for Disney. Eatnemen Vuelie and Vuelie are extremely similar. The only real difference is that the original song acted as a setting for the hymn "Fairest Lord Jesus," also known as "Beautiful Savior" or "Crusader's Hymn." Disney asked Fjellheim to rewrite the melody for "Frozen," making the film version shorter than the original version. More details about these two versions are found on Cantus' website.

This morning, I decided to listen to what these two versions would sound like when played simultaneously. The result is gorgeous, especially since it is the same choir (Cantus) that recorded both versions.

Here is a video of the original and the film Vuelie. They are exactly the same for the first 30 seconds, then you can hear a difference in the similar melodies. To play them simultaneously, it is best to start the Cantus video first, then start the Frozen video when Cantus reaches 0:01.

Eatnemen Vuelie (original)

Vuelie (Frozen)

Isn't it lovely? It's as if it was meant to be a double choir piece!

I prefer the original because it's longer, and it uses a hymn I've known for many years. I really like the connection between the title and the lyrics. Eatnemen Vuelie = "Song of the Earth," and one version of the lyrics says "Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature, O thou of God and man the Son." This song of the earth is a "joik," that is, it "joiks" the earth or paints a musical picture of the earth. What a lovely thought that a song of the earth celebrates the ruler of nature and nations, Jesus Christ! A beautiful tribute to the Savior, who created the earth and gave His life for us, under Heavenly Father's direction.