IN FO R M A TIO N T O U S E R S

This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI
films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some
thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be
from any type of computer printer.

The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the

copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality
illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins,

W
and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction.

In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete
IE
manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if
unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate
EV

the deletion.

Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by

sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and
PR

continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each
original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced
form at the back of the book.

Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced

xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white
photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations
appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to
order.

UMI
A Bell & Howell Information Company
300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA
313/761-4700 800/521-0600

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 W
IE
EV
PR

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 NATIONAL ROMANTICISM IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY

NORWEGIAN MUSIC

W
IE
by

JILLMICHELLE COSART
EV
PR

A DISSERTATION

Presented to the School o f M usic

and the Graduate School o f the U niversity of O regon
in partial fulfillm ent o f the requirem ents
for the degree of
Doctor o f Philosophy

August 1996

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f the copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 UMI Number: 9706733

W
IE
EV

UMI Microform 9706733

Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. All rights reserved.
PR

This microform edition is protected against unauthorized

copying under Title 17, United States Code.

UMI
300 North Zeeb Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48103

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 "N ational Rom anticism in N ineteenth-C entury N orw egian Music," a

dissertation prepared by JillM ichelle C osart in partial fulfillm ent of

the requirem ents for the D octor of Philosophy degree in the School of
M usic. This dissertation has been approved and accepted by:

W
Dr. Peter BergquiSt/gJo-chair o f the Exam ining Com m ittee

IE
Dr. M arian Smith, Co-chair of the Exam ining Com m ittee
EV

D ate (7
PR

C om m ittee in Charge: Dr. Peter Bergquist, C o-chair

Dr. Marian Sm ith, C o-chair
Dr. M ark Levy
Dr. Robert Hladky
Dr. Virpi Zuck

ted

Vice Provost and Dean of the G raduate School

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 © 1996 JILLMICHELLE COSART

W
IE
EV
PR

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 An A bstract o f the D issertation of
JillM ich elle C osart fo r the degree o f D octor o f Philosophy
in th e School of M usic to be taken A u g u st 1996
T itle: NATIONAL ROMANTICISM IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY

NORWEGIAN MUSIC

A p p ro v e d : ________________
P eter B etgquist, C o-chair

W
M arian Sm ith, C o-chair
IE
EV

T he D issertation analyzes the m ovem ent of national

ro m an tic ism in n in eteen th -cen tu ry N orw egian m usical h istory.

C areful attention is paid to the historical and cultural co ntext that

PR

in flu enced th e com posers, com positions, and m usical philosophies of

this perio d .

A s the nationalistic m ovem ent began with scholars researching

and assessin g their national folk m usic heritage, the docum ent begins

w ith an overview o f this cultural context. The im portance o f the

collection and study o f folk music by scholars such as Lindem an and

L andstad, and their influence on later generations o f nationalists is

exam ined. T he influence o f the sound, structure, and rhythm ic

ch aracteristics o f this folk m usic on nationalistic art m usic is also

considered. L indem an's ow n work, w hich uses his collected m aterial

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f the copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 in his sacred and secular genres, is discussed together w ith other

changes in sacred com positional styles.

Political song com position is the next genre discussed.

R elations to traditional historic ballads and connections to th e

contem porary poetic, linguistic, and p o litica l activities are exam ined.

Included is the work o f m en such as T hrane, N ordraak, and Bjpm son.

The first noticeable generation o f com posers who considered

them selves nationalists em erged in the 1840's and 1850's. T he

Lindem ans, Bull, K jerulf, Udbye, and E lling are discussed. T he second

W
generation o f com posers becam e p assio n ately involved in
natio nalistic endeavors. The life w o rk —com positional and broader
IE
m usical and cultural c o n trib u tio n s—o f m en such as N ordraak,
W inter-H jelm s, G rieg, and Svendsen are exam ined at length. The
EV

next section exam ines th e contributions o f com posers active in the

1860's through early 1890’s: N eupert, B acker-G rpndahl, S elm er,

H arklou, Olsen, Lasson, Sinding, and contem poraries. T heir links with
PR

preceding and follow ing generations are considered. The grow ing

co n tributions o f wom en com posers, perform ers, and teachers are

considered. T he later 1890's through G rieg's death (1907) are the

final years analyzed in the body o f the docum ent.

T he conclusion review s the contributions of the m ovem ent as

an historical unit. Included is a com m entary on the influence of this

m usic on the evolution o f N orw egian m usical history, as w ell as the

relevance of the m usic fo r a broader audience.

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 CURRICULUM VITA

NAME OF AUTHOR: JillM ichelle Cosart

GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED:

U niversity o f Oregon
U niversity o f A rizona
U niversity o f Oslo, Norway

DEGREES AWARDED:

D octor of Philosophy in M usic History, 1996, University o f Oregon

W
V ioloncello Perform ance supporting area
M aster of M usic in V ioloncello Perform ance, 1989, U niversity of
O reg o n
IE
B achelor of M usic m agna cum laude, V ioloncello Perform ance,
1985, U niversity of Arizona
EV

AWARDS, HONORS, AND FELLOWSHIPS:

G raduate T eaching Fellow ships, Graduate R esearch Fellow ships

M usic H istory/E thnom usicology, 1988-1996, U niversity o f Oregon
PR

A cadem ic Scholarship, 1987-1988, U niversity o f Oregon

AMS, P acific NW chapter, graduate student representative, 1994-95

SASS: Presidential Travel G rant for Conference Paper, 1996

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author gratefully acknow ledges d isse rtatio n com m ittee

members M ark Levy, Virpi Zuck, and Robert Hladky for their
generous gifts of tim e, advice, and know ledge. P articular thanks is
sincerely given to Professors Peter B ergquist and M arian Smith for

W
their patient and conscientious guidance as chairs o f both this

com m ittee and the m usic history departm ent. IE T hanks is also
extended to Anne Dhu M cLucas for her advising, patience, and

flexibility, and to the School of M usic for occasional travel assistance

EV
to give conference papers and thereby receive valuable feedback on
some of this m aterial. Special thanks goes to Bill M oore for his hours
of expert com puter assistance, and Lynn Berg for patiently providing
PR

the author's photography requests and generously sharing his

hardingfele craft. Finally, the author thanks Ingrid W eatherhead,

Ingrid U rberg, Zoe Borovsky, Kathy Saranpa, and the Friends of

Scandinavian Studies for their assistance and encouragem ent of

N orw egian c u ltu ral research.

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 V lll

Til M or og Far

W
IE
EV
PR

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 1
II. THE BACKGROUND OF NATIONALISM IN NORWAY ......... 13

H istorical Background ........................................................... 13

Types of Folk M usic 20
Instrum ental and Dance M usic 20
Song 33
Dance Music Styles 38

W
Cultural History and Music Transm ission 4 1
E arly N ineteenth-C entury Scholarship 48
Folklore and M usic Collection 48
IE
Lindeman and Bull ........................................................... 50
III. THEATERS AND OTHER MUSICAL ORGANIZATIONS ........ 6 1
EV
Music Theater Openings ............................................................. 62
Founding of M usical Associations .................................... 68

IV. NEW MUSIC, NEW PURPOSE ........................................................ 77

PR

Social Context and Audience Reception ............................. 77

Early Vocal Music ................................................................... 82

V. PROGRAM MUSIC ........................................................................... 85

O rchestration ............................................................................ 88
Forms ........................................................................................... 92

V I. WOMEN’S ROLES ............................................................................. 100

Education and Prom otion .................................................... 100

The Changing Scene Toward A National School .......... 105

V II. COMPOSERS AND THEIR ROLES ................................................. 11 5

The First Phase ........................................................................ 115

The Second Phase ................................................................... 121

V III. THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY’S INFLUENCE ........................... 127

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 X

Page
IX. CONCLUSION .................................................................................... 146
APPENDIX ............................................................................................................ 15 2

A. GLOSSARY OF NORWEGIAN TERMS ......................................... 152

B. ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................ 157

BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................ 18 2

W
IE
EV
PR

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure Page

1. Map of Norwegian Regional Areas ....................................... I 5 8

2. Areas W here Hardingfele is Used ......................................... 1 5 9

3. Areas W here Langeleik is Used ............................................. 1 6 0

4. Parts of the Langeleik Instrument ........................................ 16 1

5. Lindeman's Langeleik ................................................................. 1 6 2

W
6. Langeleik from the Telem ark Area IE ...................................... 16 3

7. Playing the Langeleik .................................................................. 1 6 4

8. Egil Storbekken Plays a Seljeflpyte ..................................... 1 6 5

EV

9. Egil Storbekken Plays a Wooden L ur ................................. 1 6 6

10. A Pair of Medieval Bronze Norwegian Lur ..................... 1 6 7

PR

11. A Turadar from the Oslo Area ................................................ 16 8

12. Turadar Right Hand M elody Buttons .................................. 1 6 9

13. Turadar Left Hand Chord Buttons ......................................... 1 7 0

14. Ole Bull's Home "Lysden" .......................................................... 17 1

15. Edvard and Nina Grieg's Home "Troldhaugen" ............ 17 2

16. Hardingfele .................................................................................... 17 3

17. Rosem aling on the Back of the Hardingfele ................... 1 7 4

18. Detail Traditional Painting and Inlay ................................. 1 7 5

Page

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f the copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 xii

1 9. Detail Back Painting .................................................................. 1 7 4

20. Sympathetic Strings ................................................................... 1 7 5

21. Detail Sympathetic Strings ....................................................... 17 6

22. Detail Sympathetic Strings ....................................................... 1 7 7

23. Detail Sympathetic Strings ....................................................... 178

24. Detail Dragonhead ....................................................................... 1 7 9

W
IE
EV
PR

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A m ultitude o f drastic changes occurred in N orw egian m usical

life during the nineteenth century. Substantial developm ent is
noticeable in the m usic that was com posed, the music that was

perform ed, the m usical education system , the m usical financial

W
structure, and the cultural role o f music and the arts during this
historical period.
IE
To date, no scholarly literature has analyzed this im portant
period of m usical growth in a com prehensive way. Few of the good
EV

secondary sources, especially com posers' biographies, consider the

m ore com prehensive im pact the search for national artistic identity

had on every com poser and com position during the nineteenth
PR

c e n tu r y .1 This leads to incom plete understanding, often even

1 It should be noted, how ever, that there are n ow three substantial excep tion s
to the general trend in biographies, first and m ost important, Edvard G rieg:
The Man and the Artist, by Finn B en estad and D ag Schjelderup-Ebbe (L incoln:
U niversity o f Nebraska Press, 1988). T his biography not only does an
exem plary job o f linking Grieg to h is cultural con text, it also attempts to g ive
sim ilar inform ation about a few o f G rieg's clo sest colleagu es from the last
decades o f the nineteenth century. A lso , Cam illa Cai and Einar Haugen, O le
B ull: National Patriot. C osm opolitan A rtist (M adison: U niversity o f W iscon sin
Press, 1993), should be m entioned as exem plary in sh ow ing an artist's
biography w h ich is w ell-in form ed in its cultural context. T hirdly, the
biography Johan Svendsen: The M an. the M aestro, the M usic, by Finn Benestad
and D ag Schjelderup-E bbe, translated by W illiam H. Halverson (C olum bus, OH:
Peer Gynt Press, 1995), is also a very holistic biography sen sitive to both
S v en d sen 's N orw egian and D anish en v iro n cm en ts.

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 m isunderstanding, about the com posers' artistic expression. If

scholarship in the field o f nineteenth-century N orw egian m usic is to

progress, these com posers, th eir w orks, and their achievem ents m ust
be exam ined w ithin their historical and cultural context.
The history of the arts in Norway during the nineteenth
century reflects clearly the im portant social, political, and econom ic

changes that w ere sim ultaneously taking place. The nineteenth

century was one of trem endous vitality in N orw egian music. The

m usical grow th in N orw ay during this period was sim ilar to the other

W
arts, closely paralleling the nationalist attitude which began to

surface in 1814 and continued to perm eate and then eventually

IE
dom inate m ost of N orw egian artistic philosophy until well into the
tw en tieth c en tu ry .
EV

There are certainly a half-dozen m iddle and late nineteenth-

century N orw egian com posers and perform er-com posers w hose work
can be scrutinized and found w orthy through an approach of
PR

standard central European m usical analysis. H ow ever, when these

m usicians and their contem poraries from N orw ay are exam ined

w ithin the broader perspective o f their national cultural context, it

becomes apparent that they are part of an entire school of m usical

growth. This dissertation will present a holistic, ethnom usicological

analysis of the gestation and grow th, the conditions, philosophies,

associations, com positions, and m usicians which com prised a m ajor

m ovem ent of nationalism in nineteenth-century N orw egian m usic.

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 3

W ith cultural perspective, consideration of the social, political,

and general artistic context o f Norw egian music, the m usic of the
n in eteen th -cen tu ry N orw egian com posers can be best understood.

E xtra-m usical as well as m usical events and conditions influence

m ost schools of m usical nationalism . Political events, m ajor social

changes, changes in religious attitudes, linguistic developm ents,

to g eth er w ith literary trends, theater arts, dance traditions, visual
arts, are all extra-m usical stim uli w hich com m only affect national
m usical grow th. All of these had a definite im pact on the character

W
and quality of m usical life and musical output in N orw ay. Therefore

this study also considers the interrelations of the cultural context of

nationalism and the affected m usical heritage.

IE
R elationships betw een the N orw egian folklore scholarship and
EV

the N orw egian nationalist m usic also need to be exam ined, because
the assessm ent and collection of the nation's folklore played an

im portant role in the music o f the nationalists. T herefore relevant

PR

folklore and especially folk m usic which inspired the nineteenth-

century nationalists should be considered. The new found interest in

and collection o f folk music, and how it became im portant to

com position and particularly relevant in dram atic m usic, (such as

W aldem ar T hrane's F o lk e v e n tv re t. and Edvard G rieg’s O lav

T rv g v a so n and Peer G vnt). is discussed.2

2 W aldem ar Thrane, F ie ld e v e n t v r e t . (The M ountain E sca p a d e), (C hristiania,

1 8 2 4 -2 5 , u np u blish ed ), as reproduced in N ils G rinde, N o r sk M u sik k h isto rie
(O slo: U niversitetsforlaget, 1971), 127-130. Edvard G rieg, O lav T rvvason and
Peer G vnt. as found in Edvard G rieg’s Com plete W orks (G G A ), (O slo: The Edvard
G rieg C om m ittee, Finn Benestad, ed .) Vol. 18 and 19.

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 4

The dissertation presents a com prehensive study o f the

beginnings o f an essential period o f m usic history in N orw ay which

not only stim ulated grow th and affected artistic style during the

nineteenth century, but also greatly influenced the N orw egian

m usical w orld well into the tw entieth century. It addresses

questions such as, w hat w ere the changes taking place during the

nineteenth century? W hat did the nationalist m usic grow out of?
W hat caused such a com plete upheaval of m usical life? W hat were

the strongest influences before the changes? W hy did the com posers

W
think there was a need for any changes? How was the new m usical

system supported? W ho were the m ost im portant catalysts and

IE
executors o f these changes? How did these changes influence

N orw egian m usical identity and activities well into the tw entieth
EV

century? W hat did the m anifold changes have in common? W hat

national artistic identity em erged as a result of the role m usic played

in N orw egian artistic and social culture? These questions are

PR

answ ered by an exam ination o f the gestation, birth, and grow th of

the N orw egian nationalistic m ovem ent and the world o f com posers

and music who created and nurtured it. The dissertation begins by
briefly exam ining the orientation o f the arts in their historical and

social context. The em phasis of the follow ing chapters of the

dissertation is on the people, their activities, their perform ances,

their philosophies, and the m usical relationships of the com posers

who were involved. Also included is inform ation on and analysis of

the im portant folk m usic—both religious and se c u la r-w h ic h was

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 5

used as m elodic, tonal, rhythm ic, program m atic, and structural

m aterial for n ineteenth-century N orw egian m usic.

T here is a dearth of inform ation on the m ovem ent of

N orw egian m usical nationalism . Only tw o of the standard Norw egian

history texts deal with the nationalistic music o f the nineteenth

century as a unit at all, and there are no critical studies that deal

with the m ovem ent as a com prehensive unit o f N orw egian m usic

history. The lack of scholarly m aterial on N orw egian nineteenth-

century music, particularly in English, is a serious problem. One of

W
the m ost im portant reasons for the need for serious, scholarly work

in the area is that there is general ignorance and m isunderstanding

IE
in the non-N orw egian m usicological com m unity about the purposes
and values of nineteenth-century N orw egian com posers and
EV

com positions. The deficiencies of scholarly w riting in the field no

doubt hold the greatest responsibility for the continued culturally
biased dism issal of the m usic, particularly regarding the
PR

perpetuation of incorrect and incom plete inform ation. The

superficial statem ents in the Grout text are an exam ple of the

problem : "The weakness in these works arise from G rieg’s tendency

to think always in two- or four-m easure phrases and his inability to

achieve rhythm ic continuity and form al unity in long m ovem ents;

such national characteristics are superim posed on an orthodox style

which G rieg learned in youthful studies at the Leipzig conservatory.”3

3 Donald Jay Grout and Claude V. Palisca, A H istory o f Western M u sic. Fourth
Edition (N .Y .: W.W. Norton & Co., 1988), 781-782.

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 6

T hese points of criticism by G rout dem onstrate m isunderstandings

typical of writers presenting only the superficial generalities o f

Grieg's artistic intent. The fact is that Grieg was purposely using the
phrasing and rhythm ic characteristics w hich w ere basic form al

structures o f N orw egian folk m usic, especially folk dance m usic.4

Dance m usic, folk song, and instrum ental folk m usic (especially the
h a rd in g fe le (hardanger fiddle) music) were all used as m elodic,

harm onic, and organizational source m aterial by G rieg and m any of

his late nineteenth-century contem poraries to express national

W
identity and to com m unicate successfully with their own and other
Scandinavian audiences. Furtherm ore, when G rieg's m iddle and late
IE
works are considered, his harm onic style is anything but an

"orthodox style...learned in L eipzig":5 it is closer to the im pressionist

EV

com posers o f the follow ing decades (Debussy and Ravel both studied
and adm ired Grieg) than to the German Leipzig sty le.6
PR

4 B enestad and Schjelderup-E bbe, Edvard Grieg: the Man and the Artist
(L incoln, Nebraska: U n iversity o f Nebraska Press, 1988), 2 6 3 -2 7 0 .

5 Grout and Palisca, A History o f W estern M usic. 7 8 1 -7 8 2 .

6 "String Quartet in G minor, Opus 27," in Benestad and Schjelderup-E bbe,

Edvard G rieg: Chamber M usic (O slo: Scandinavian U n iversity Press, 1993), 62-
106. T w o quotations regarding G rieg's chamber m usic sty le, from pages 62-63,
are worth m entioning. First the authors state "...the String Quartet in G minor,
w hich m ust be regarded as one o f the m ost audacious and pioneering works in
this genre betw een the late B eethoven quartets and D ebussy's Quartet in G
minor from 1893." A lso, Grieg h im self said o f this quartet, "It aims at breadth,
fligh t o f im agination, and above all, sonority for the instrum ents for w h ich it
is written."

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 7

A lthough there are several good biographies of nineteenth-

century N orw egian com posers av ailab le,7 and one good general

Norw egian music history (N ils G rinde's N orsk M u sik k h isto rie).8 there

is no com prehensive work w hich assim ilates and analyzes the

m usical history and stylistic growth as a cultural and social unit

which strongly affected m ost m usic w ritten in the nineteenth and

tw entieth centuries in Norw ay.

This dissertation first orients the reader in the historical

fram ew ork of im portant political changes which caused the surge o f

W
nationalism during the nineteenth century. The m ajor political

events which m oved the country tow ard independent statehood, the
IE
linguistic struggles, and the literary background which influenced the

music are sum m arized. The m ajor folk m usic instrum ents and folk
EV

m usic genres which were used in the new art music are presented.

There follows a sum m ary of the history of early nationalistic

scholarship in the arts. The work of collecting folk music, both dance
PR

m usic and folk song, is exam ined. C onnections between certain

perform ers, w riters, and folklore collectors particularly relevant to

first generation nationalist com posers such as Lindem an, Landstad,

7 T he aforem entioned Edvard G rieg: The Man and The Artist, by Benestad and
Schjelderup-E bbe, another book by B enestad o n ly , Joh ann es H aark lou:
M annen og W erket (O slo: U niversitetsforlaget, 1961), and a short but good
biography by B jam e K ortsen, A gathe B acker Grflndahl og fo lk eto n en (B ergen :
Personal publication, 1970), are all good biographies which attem pt to deal
w ith the com posers and their work som ew hat w ithin their cultural context.

8 Grinde, N orsk M u sik k h isto rie (O slo: U niversitetsforlaget, 1971), and Grindc,
third ed ition (revised ), A H istory o f N orw egian M usic, translated by Sateren
and H alverson, (L incoln: U niversity o f Nebraska Press, 1991).

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 8

and B erggren are discussed. Perform er-com posers such as O le Bull

and M yllarguten are considered for their contributions that

prom oted national m usic. N ext Chapter Tw o includes the beginnings

o f the training, the educational system , and com positional endeavors

o f early nationalists. The w ave of patriotic song com positions by

com posers such as W aldem ar T hrane, Rikard N ordraak, and texts by

poets such as B jdm stjem e B j0rnson are considered. Several o f the

m ost influential nationalist poets are included because of their

collaborations w ith the song w riters.

W
The third chapter deals w ith the integration o f the Norse

philosophies, the sounds of the folk instrum ents and the folk
IE
m elodies, into artistic society and the artistic and m usical

associations. The people who began to sponsor the m usic and bring it
EV

before the public as well as the places w here the public perform ance
and support was m ost active are presented. T heater openings and

nationalistic m usical theater activities and presentations, as w ell as

PR

som e of the funding difficulties these encountered, are discussed.

Particular attention is paid to the two m ost im portant houses,

C hristiania T heater in Christiania (now Oslo) and Den N ationale Scene

(The N ational Theater) in Bergen. Next is a discussion of the

founding o f som e im portant m usical associations and their roles in

C openhagen, Bergen, C hristiania, Trondheim , and other cities and

reg io n s.
The fourth chapter presents the activities of the com posers in

the first real generation of nationalist art music com posers (from

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.
 9

approxim ately 1850-1865), including who they w ere, w hat they

w ere w riting, thinking, researching, and perform ing. There is an

overview of w hat audience they were grow ing out of and what new

audience they w ere first trying to reach. Soon after the prelim inary

work of Ole B ull and Ludvig M athias Lindem an, com posers such as

H alfdan K jerulf, Rikard Nordraak, Edmund N eupert, and Edvard Grieg

began to show their interest in nationalist ideals. The significant
progress w hich evolved around the art of vocal music, especially

patriotic song, is presented, as well as noting the im portant

W
collaboration betw een the m usicians and oth er nationalist artists.

The fifth chapter is about the program m usic, the orchestration,

IE
and the m aturing of the new generation creating the dram atic music

of Norway. C ontributions to dram atic music by com posers such as

EV

Rikard N ordraak, Halfdan Kjerulf, Edvard G rieg, and Johan Svendsen

are exam ined. Each of these com posers was extrem ely aware of

trying on the one hand, to create a N ationalistic school and attitude,

PR

and on the oth er hand, to blend that with a personal style of art

m usic. There is discussion of the various m etam orphoses some of

these com posers worked through in their philosophies and their

com positional styles, as well as how they each defined Nordic sounds

and what elem ents they tried to use in their art music. Some of their

m ajor dram atic works and the folk sources from which they were

derived are exam ined. Highlights of some of the collaborations,

discussions or correspondence which w ent on betw een several of

these com posers and their other artistic friends and how they

R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f th e copyright ow ner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout perm ission.