This was Carl Nielsen's last orchestral work and shares the lean, slightly remote sound of the Sixth Symphony. It was written on commission from the Danish Radio to commemorate the visit of a Czech conductor, Jaroslav Krupka.

Although the work uses a Czech and a Danish folk song, the title refers to the main Danish tune, which is known as "Queen Dagmar." Nielsen called that a "Bohemian-Danish" tune because the Queen Dagmar of the title was a princess of Bohemia who married Danish King Waldemar (1170-1241). According to the tune, when she died she made her confession and her only sin had been a time when she sewed some lace on a Sunday. It is an attractive and suitably festive piece.

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