ABSTRACT
The question of what makes ‘Nordic’ music distinctive is a matter of some dispute. Does it exist? Or, in what ways is it able to manifest itself? Like nationality, it is a construction of identity that emerges through discourses on music and on Nordicness. Essentially it is an open signifier, as concepts of Nordicness can be identified either with something dark, cold and obscure or as something related to light, brightness and the aurora borealis. In order to discuss matters of what makes Nordic music distinctive, the authors analyse how musical features interact with notions of being Nordic in cases ranging from Niels W. Gade’s music in the 1840s to Nordic music festivals and the 2016 Nordic Hymn.
