In 1930, Hreinn Pálsson (1901-1978) sang this song "Í dag er glatt í döprum hjörtum" on a 78 rpm record. Dr. Franz Mixa (1902-1994) played the organ. He was an Austrian conductor and composer who had been hired to conduct music at the 1000th anniversary celebrations of the Althingi that same year. He became one of the main driving forces in the country's music scene in the 1940s. This song is by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and is from the opera The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte) and the poem is originally called "Bald prangt, den Morgen zu verkünden". The Magic Flute was Mozart's last opera. He composed most of the opera in early 1791. Emanuel Schickeneder (1751-1812) wrote the libretto. He was a German actor, singer and composer. No other Mozart opera has such a wide range of styles and currents. The Magic Flute premiered on September 30, 1791, just two months before Mozart's death. Rev. Valdimar Briem (1848-1930) wrote the hymn "Í dag er glatt í döprum hjörtum" to this opera-song. Not everyone was happy at first with a opera-song being used as a hymn, but this hymn soon became one of the most popular Christmas hymns in Iceland. Many of the most popular Christmas hymns were first included in the hymnal in 1886, including this one. The singer Hreinn Pálsson was from Hrísey in Eyjafjörður. He sang his way into the hearts of the nation that same year, 1930, with the song "Dalakofinn". That song was the first Icelandic popular song sung on an album.

Here you can listen to the song "Í dag er glatt í döprum hjörtum" on hljodsafn.is