One of the most delightful and affectionate musical evocations of youth ever written, Nielsen's cantata (or, as he termed it, "lyric humoresque") Springtime in Funen was inspired by his own, apparently very happy, childhood on the Danish island of Funen. A few years later, he wrote of those happy times of youth in his memoir My Childhood on Funen. The cantata was brought about by a contest held by the Danish Choral Society—they requested poems celebrating some aspect of Danish life, culture, nature or history, with the winning poem being set to music by Nielsen. The contest was won by Aage Berntsen (1885-1952), a doctor and poet who was himself born on Funen (and whose politician father, coincidentally, sponsored Nielsen's entry into the Royal Danish Conservatory years before). After sitting on the poem for some years, Nielsen finally wrote the music in just two weeks in 1921. The cantata was first performed on July 8, 1922 at the Market Hall in Odense, in an event of national importance which was attended by the King and Queen of Denmark. The Hall was packed to its capacity of 8,000, and conductor Georg Høeberg led a choir of 800 drawn from all over the country. Nielsen himself also conducted the work at a special concert celebrating his sixtieth birthday on June 9, 1925.

At this time, Nielsen was very interested in song writing. In the years following 1914 (especially 1920 and 1921) he wrote a large number of Danish songs, some of them prompted by the Danish Folk High School. Nielsen felt strongly about musical pedagogy, and many of these songs were written specifically for amateur performers—as was Springtime in Funen which, despite the forces necessary (four-part chorus, children's chorus, three vocal soloists and medium-sized orchestra), can be performed by amateur groups to good effect.

Springtime in Funen portrays the arrival of spring on the island and how the change of seasons affects a variety of people. Following the harsh months of winter, spring brings different forms of joy to different people—hope and general high spirits for the young, calm and reflection for the old. After an opening chorus describing the life of the community, the soprano soloist presents a not-unclouded view of the coming of spring. Then the baritone sings of his love for the neighbor's daughter Ilsebil with one of the sweetest melodies Nielsen ever wrote (although many of the melodies in this work sound like folk songs, no actually folk material is used). A playful number follows in which the young sing and dance with "tra-la-las" while the baritone reminds us that "pipe and glass make time soon pass." At the center of the work is "The Blind Musician" (apparently inspired by one Blind Anders, a clarinetist who played in a village band with Nielsen's father). With its poignant wind accompaniment, it is the very touching monologue of a musician whose "dearest friend" is his clarinet. After this, the children enter, dancing and pulling flowers, and a chorus of the elderly sing of some of the consolations of passing into eternal rest. The cantata concludes with a whirlwind of a "Dance Ballad," with various lovers seeking each other out to further "tra-la-las." A brief meditation on the falling apple blossoms is pushed aside by an even more enthusiastic return of the dance.

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