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Contents
The Beginnings
Music has been present in Denmark since prehistoric times. The Bronze Age lurs with their mighty sound bring greetings from an age about 3000 years ago, and the ancient sagas bear witness of a culture which also included music. The great number of folksongs from the Middle Ages indicate how deeply rooted music was in the souls of the people, and the plainsong in the Catholic Mass before the Reformation was a well-known musical form.
The Reformation in 1536 changed the direction of sacred music by introducing the Luther chorale, and the art music - including part-song music - flourished for the first time at the court of the Danish Renaissance kings. One of the oldest references to choral singing in Denmark is found around the year 1500, when Queen Christine is known to have ordered the boys of the cathedral schools to sing part-song music for her on several occasions. Several accounts of choral singing in that period exist in the royal archives. The quality of the musical performance was not impressive, however: In connection with the marriage of Princess Elisabeth, sister of the German Emperor Charles V, and the Danish King Christian II in 1515, the envoy who was to escort her from Germany to Copenhagen was advised to bring in a number of singers from Lübeck or Danzig, "because they sing very poorly in Copenhagen".
The Chapel Royal Choir
The advice was taken, and records of the singers in royal service, Det Kgl. Kantori (the "Chapel Royal Choir") from 1519 onwards still exist. King Christian III was crowned in 1537, and at his court he created a competent choir modelled on foreign examples. The choristers of Christian III reflect the flourishing court music of the time, which carried the stamp of the eminent European musicians who were in charge of it. Furthermore, the King had strong family connections with various German courts. Eventually, the Chapel comprised 30 singers, 7 choirboys singing treble parts included, an organist and a choirmaster. Their repertoire can be studied in two preserved sets of part books from 1541 and 1556 (new edition in Dania Sonans vol. 4-5, Edition Egtved). Here you will find works by Josquin, Heinrich Isaac, Philippe Verdelot, Adrian Petit Coclico, Heinrich Finck, Ludwig Senfl, Adrian Willaert and several others. About 160 compositions are included in the older set of books, most of them for 5 or 6 parts; 55 of them name their composer, but a national, Danish choral composition cannot be recognized at this point.
Music at the Court of Christian IV
During the reign of King Christian IV (1588-1648) Danish composers began to be noted as well. Admittedly, all the Kapellmeister at the court were still foreigners, like Bonaventura Borchgrevinck, born in The Netherlands, and Gregorius Trehou, also presumably of Dutch descent. And prominent foreign guests visited the Danish court: The Englishman John Dowland, and later the great German Heinrich Schütz.
But during the period 1599-1600 court organist Melchior Borchgrevinck, a son of the above mentioned Kapellmeister, was sent to Venice together with four young members of the Chapel to study with the famous Giovanni Gabrieli at St.Mark's Cathedral. Among the four were Hans Nielsen (born c. 1585) and Mogens Pedersøn (also born c. 1585). The latter was to become the first great Danish choral composer. Another young Dane was Hans Brachrogge, who visited Venice 1602-04. In 1605 Mogens Pedersøn paid his second visit to Venice and stayed until 1609, funded all along by the Danish king. During their stay in Venice both Hans Nielsen and Mogens Pedersøn published madrigal collections under Italian pseudonyms.
The organist of the Cathedral of Our Lady in Copenhagen was Truid Aagesen, who was slightly older (born c. 1570). As well as the others, he had studied in Germany and Italy, and he composed a large number of madrigals. A representative selection of Nielsen's, Aagesen's and Pedersøn's compositions has been published in Dania Sonans 1-3 and Orbis Chori 1 (Edition Egtved). Mogens Pedersøn's Messe (Mass) to Latin words has been reprinted by the Copenhagen publishing house Engstrøm & Sødring, where motets by Gregorius Trehou and others can also be acquired. Interesting music, worthy of performance.
The 17th and 18th centuries
After the reign of Christian IV came a severe economic recession. The King's compulsive war-making had been an expensive business for Denmark, and the palmy days of court music came to an end. Instead, the focus is turned on sacred music, of which the greatest Danish Baroque composer was Diderich Buxtehude (1637-1707). His cantatas have been published by Danish and international editors (f.i.Bärenreiter, Germany).
It is true that Danish musical life flourished in the first half of the eighteenth century, when several musical societies were formed, but in terms of choral music the second half of the century was much more fruitful: A number of great works for chorus and orchestra came out. This was the day of opera and ballad opera, and conductors and composers like J. A. Scheibe, Guiseppe Sarti, J. Ernst Hartmann, J. A. P.Schulz and F. L. Æ. Kunzen immigrated from Italy and Germany. This is not really the century of a cappella singing, still, apart from the choral interludes in the ballad operas, a number of cantatas appeared. Famous works are Scheibe's Passion Cantata from 1768, J.A.P.Schulz's oratorio Kristi Død (The Death of Christ), and Kunzen's cantata Skabningens Halleluja (Halleluja of Creation), all of them for solo voices, choir and orchestra. J.Ernst Hartmann's music for the ballad opera Balders Død (The Death of Balder) has been published in a new edition in Dania Sonans 7 (Edition Egtved).
The composers mentioned above all wrote music which has determined Danish culture, consequently, we take the liberty of including them in the Danish cultural heritage. The same goes for the two German-born composers, Fr. Kuhlau and C. E. F. Weyse, of whom especially the latter was quite a prominent composer of choral music. Weyse (1774-1842) came from Holsten not far from the present Danish-German border and thus had a particularly close relationship to the Danish monarchy. Weyse's sacred cantata music reaches its artistic peak in his great series of Christmas, New Year, Easter and Whitsun cantatas. Furthermore, he wrote a number of occasional cantatas for the University of Copenhagen. From the period including Weyse and the dawn of Romanticism it is safe to refer to an actual Danish tone of music.
The Musical Society and Niels W. Gade
The period including the middle of the nineteenth century and onwards became the heyday of choral music in Denmark, too. Large musical societies emerged and performed the famous, international works for choir and orchestra. An example is Musikforeningen (The Musical Society), which was founded in 1836 and already the year after had an associated choir. Niels W. Gade (1817-1890) became its conductor in 1850, and under his management a number of masterpieces of choral music were given their first performance in Demnark, among them Bach's St.Matthew Passion in 1875. Male choirs also flourished, and even though this was the period of the great (secular) cantatas, composers regained interest in writing a cappella music.
Gade himself was an excellent choral composer: Fünf Gesänge Opus 13 (1846) for a cappella choir, originally to German words, has been published in new editions by both Edition Wilhelm Hansen (WH) and Edition Egtved. Gade also composed a number of great works for chorus and orchestra, among them the most famous Danish work of its kind: Elverskud (Erlkönigs Tochter, 1851-54). The music is in print at both Egtved's and WH's. Concert pieces in German like Frühlingsphantasie (1852) for soloists, chorus and orchestra and Frühlingsbotschaft for chorus and orchestra deserve to be noted here as well.
Other romantic composers
In 1837 Henrik Rung (1807-1871) travelled to Italy through Vienna to study. During his stay there he copied a number of great Renaissance works, and after his return to Denmark he performed Palestrina's Stabat Mater in The Musical Society in 1841. The following year Rung arranged an ancient music concert in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Copenhagen. The programme included, among other works, Allegri's Miserere, and 3000 people attended, but the concert was a failure: The music was not understood by the audience. This was one of the reasons why Rung founded Cæciliaforeningen (The Cecilia Society) a few years later, in 1851, with the purpose of performing ancient Italian music. Henrik Rung was mainly a composer of music for the stage and of songs. One of his choral works is the Italian madrigal Fuggite Amore (Egtved).
Although Peter Heise (1830-1879) is best known as a composer of solo songs he has written at least one extremely beautiful work for chorus and piano - originally for solo quartet (SSABar), but very well suited for chorus as well. Its title is Foraar og Sommer ("Spring and Summer")(Egtved), also available in an older edition in German: "Frühling und Sommer" (WH). An interesting contribution for a cappella chorus can be found in Religiøse og folkelige Digte op.86 (Religious Poems and Songs of the People, Opus 86 (WH) by J. P. E. Hartmann (1805-1900), but the words are Danish. At the turn of the century was published what may well be the most beautiful Danish romantic a cappella work, P. E. Lange-Müller's (1850-1926) Tre Madonnasange op.65 (Three Madonna Songs Opus 65, WH), also in Danish.
Carl Nielsen
The greatest Danish composer ever is Carl Nielsen (1865-1931). His opera Saul og David (1898-1901, WH) offers marvellous chorus scenes, and his work Hymnus Amoris Op.12 (1896-97, WH), which was included in the programme of Europa Cantat 12 in Herning 1994, is an extraordinarily beautiful and grand composition for choir and orchestra; the text is in Latin. Another wonderful work of the same kind is Fynsk Forår Op.42 (Springtime on Funen, 1921, WH). Nielsen was not a prolific composer of a cappella choral works. However, Tre Motetter Op.55 (Three Motets Op.55, 1929, WH), all in Latin, constitute a masterpiece of Danish choral tradition.
Obviously, a composer of Carl Nielsen's stature is bound to have great influence on later composers. And the flourishing number of a cappella compositions in this century do indeed carry the mark of something peculiar to Denmark - and to Nielsen - even though it defies precise description. You have to listen for it and experience it during rehearsal.
Jeppesen, Holmboe and Schultz
The greatest composers of choral music belonging to the generation after Carl Nielsen are Knud Jeppesen (1892-1974), Vagn Holmboe (1909-1996), and Svend S. Schultz (1913-1998). Besides working as a composer Jeppesen was also an internationally renowned Palestrina scholar, which is also reflected in his compositions. He wrote a great number of Danish songs and motets; Four Shakespeare Songs (Egtved) are nice, madrigal-like choir pieces in English.
Holmboe was perhaps the greatest and at least one of the most impressive choral composers from the 20th century, even seen from an international point of view, and choosing from his vast production of choral music can be difficult. A long series of Latin motets can be found in the collections Liber Canticorum from the period beginning 1951 and onwards. The internationally most frequently performed composition of the series is Benedic Domino (WH), but among the Latin motets Hominis dies (1984, WH) or Laudate Dominum (1984, WH) are also recommendable. Among his secular works two ballads in English, A Lyke-wake Dirge (1972, WH) and The Wee Wee Man (1972, WH), are of high merit.
For many years the composer Svend S. Schultz was the choirmaster of the Danish Radio Choir. He has composed within almost every genre, and is a fine lyrical choral composer. Many of his works are in Danish, however. Of his repertoire in foreign languages I would like to give prominence to Quattuor fragmenta ex Ovidii "Ars amandi" for mixed choir and optional flute (1972, Egtved), and Four Latin Madrigals (1974, Egtved).
Other composers from the first half of the 20th Century
Four other composers of the older generation deserve to be mentioned: Finn Høffding (1899-1997), who is rooted in the folk music movement of the thirties and has written several Danish choral songs as well as Das Eisenbahngleichnis (1934, WH) for choir, double bass and percussion, and Bjørn Hjelmborg (1911-1994), whose fine sacred choral music includes 3 Davidssalmer (Three Psalms for choir a cappella, English text, Egtved 1990) and Missa Brevis for equal voices and organ (WH). Jørgen Jersild (b. 1913) also belongs in this group; his harmonically sophisticated works have aroused interest even outside Denmark: 3 Madrigali per coro a cappella (WH 1950) is a good example of that.
Finally, it would be unfair to overlook Otto Mortensen (1907-1986), whose numerous, easily accessible choral compositions and - in particular - folksong arrangements are great favourites with Danish choirs. Otto Mortensen's version of the song Det var en lørdag aften has been sung at choir festivals all over the world - and in Danish, too! 7 Choir Songs 1981 (Egtved) are in English, however.
Catholic sacred music: Kayser and Lewkovitch
The Danish state church is Lutheran, but Catholicism is also quite widespread. Two composers have a particular affinity to the Catholic Church: Leif Kayser (1919-2001) and Bernhard Lewkovitch (b. 1927). Both composers have written a considerable number of works with Latin texts. In addition to a cappella works like for example Justorum Animae and Hodie Christus Natus Est (1954, Egtved), Kayser has written several works for choir and orchestra: The Christmas oratorio In Nativitate Domini (1969, Samfundet til udgivelse af dansk musik), Te Deum (1973, Samfundet til udgivelse af dansk musik), and Messa III (1960, Egtved) for choir and strings.
In the fifties Lewkovitch composed works representative of the most outstanding Danish choral music of this century. From his very large output of choral music might be noted for example 3 Salmi Op.9 (1952, WH), 10 Latin Motets (1956-57, WH), and Messa Op.15 for choir, wind instruments and harp (1954, WH). Il Cantico delle Creature for 8 voices (1963, WH) is a very special and fascinating work, and among Lewkovitch's secular compositions for a cappella choir Tre madrigali di Torquate Tasso Op.13 (1954-55, WH) is an important work. It may seem a bit unfair to mention the older works only, for Bernhard Lewkovitch is still very productive and numerous compositions have come out since the fifties. There is no doubt that Lewkovitch ranks among the greatest Danish composers of choral music ever. A large number of his works have been published by Edition Wilhelm Hansen, and anyone will be able to find gems among them.
Nørholm and Nørgård
Two other famous Danish composers are Ib Nørholm (b. 1931) and Per Nørgård (b. 1932). Both have won international acclaim, and both have worked within many different genres within classical music. As a composer of choral music Nørholm has dealt almost exclusively - and on grounds of principle - with Danish texts. Apart from a number of songs and motets he has composed Americana Op.89 (1983, WH), an important work for choir a cappella - but still in Danish.
This is different from Per Nørgård, whose Wie ein Kind (1980, WH) is sometimes regarded by Danish conductors as the a cappella composition of the century. There is no denying the fact that this composition, before any other recent Danish choral music, has become part of the repertoire of the international elite chamber choirs. Nørgård writes great and frequently complex choral music. This applies to, for example, Singe die Gärten (1974, WH) for choir of 8 voices and 8 instruments. For the choir festival Europa Cantat 12 in the city of Herning, Denmark 1994, he composed Og der skal ikke mere gives tid (1993, WH), subtitled "Und Zeit wird es nicht mehr geben", an a cappella work with a truly international text in Swedish, German, Turkish, and Danish, but printed phonetically so that everyone will be able to pronounce the words. A more readily accessible Nørgård work is for example 3 Motets (1982, WH) with text in Latin.
Lorentzen, la Cour, Holten...
Choral music of an untraditional sort including aleatory elements, speech choir, drama, etc. is being written by, among others, Bent Lorentzen (b. 1935). Purgatorio from 1975 (WH) with German text, 3 Madrigals (1977) and Septimus angelus for mixed choir and trombone are examples of such works. 5 Motets (1982) and Ululate (1983) are other examples of Lorentzen's fertile musical imagination.
Niels la Cour was born in 1944. His style is clearly neo-classical, his harmonics seem inspired by Duruflé, still, he has his own personal style and the merit of his work cannot be contended. On this background it is hardly surprising that his choral music is very widely sung and has achieved considerable success even abroad. Noteworthy among the a cappella works are 3 motetti latini 1982 (Egtved), 4 Salmi (1985, Egtved), Tre motetti latini 1988 (Egtved), and the extremely beautiful Missa Brevis (1989, Engstrøm & Sødring).
The last composer to be mentioned here is Bo Holten (b. 1948), who works as a composer and as the conductor of the professional elite chamber choir Ars Nova. Holten is, above all, a composer of choral music with an excellent knowledge of the potentials of choral sound. He has composed many works; among the great are Pavane-Fantasia (1974, WH), Tallis Variations (1976, WH) for choir and strings, The Clod And The Pebble (1982, WH) for double choir, 3 clarinets and percussion, and - especially interesting for french choirs - La douce nuit (1976, WH) for 6-part mixed choir and bells. More straightforward is for example the a cappella composition Three Latin Motets (1985, WH).
Many other Danish composers from the 20th century have written choral music - some more than others - among them are Herman D. Koppel, Flemming Weis, Leif Thybo, Sven Erik Werner, Peder Holm, Tage Nielsen, Ingolf Gabold, Svend Nielsen, Knud Høgenhaven, Henning Wellejus, Bent Sørensen and Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen. New composers continously emerge, but the names mentioned in this article were meant to cover the most prominent composers within the genre of classical choral music.
Rhythmic choral music
Music of Afro-American origin, jazz, swing, beat, rock etc. - in Denmark and elsewhere these and many other music forms are somewhat vaguely labelled Rhythmic Music. In the latest decades this music has also been prominent in the repertoire of Danish choirs. Apart from the considerable international part of this repertoire, in which the distinguishable Danish element is limited to the arrangement of existing foreign material, original Danish rhythmic choral music is in fact being composed today. One of the pioneers of this genre is John Høybye (b.1939). Other composers/arrangers are, for example, Erling Kullberg (b.1945), Jens Johansen (b.1952) and Bent Peder Holbech (b.1947).
The Choirs
Of course there is a connection between the richness of the Danish music for choirs today and the flourishing choral sector. At the beginning of the century the situation was still in many ways determined by the large music societies and their choirs, but soon the interest of the choirs turned towards the ancient a cappella music. The new trend was also a reaction against the Romantic movement, and the most influential Danish conductor in the twentieth century in terms of reshaping the choral repertoire along those lines, was Mogens Wöldike (1897-1988). In 1922 he formed Palestrinakoret (The Palestrina Choir), which was later to win international fame, and for which Carl Nielsen wrote his Tre Motetter Op.55. In 1924 Wöldike also formed Københavns Drengekor (The Copenhagen Boys' Choir), a so-called mixed boys' choir along German lines (Thomaner Choir). This choir also became important as an institution hatching future musicians and singers. (See later).
After the founding of the Danish Radiosymfoniorkester (Radio Symphony Orchestra) in 1928, the idea of a Radio Choir naturally emerged, and in 1932 the new choir appeared for the first time in a performance of Verdi's Requiem with the Italian conductor Egisto Tango. Today Radiokammerkoret (The Radio Chamber Choir) and Radiokoret (The Danish National Radio Choir) are still prominent ensembles.
Speaking of large, professional choirs we have to mention the fact that Det Kongelige Operakor (The Royal Opera Chorus) in Copenhagen, which originated in the end of the eighteenth century, is considered one of the best of its kind in the world.
Professionalism and semi-professionalism
There have been evident effects of the advantageous conditions provided for the choirs in connection with an increasingly effective effort to provide education for conductors as well as singers, an effort substantiously supported also by the Danish choral associations: The interest in choral singing increased explosively during the seventies, and not least in the surroundings of the large educational institutions like universities, conservatories and post-graduate training colleges chamber choirs of increasingly high standard emerged. This does not mean that no chamber choirs of excellence had previously existed. Already towards the end of the forties the university choir MUKO had performed successfully abroad, and this choir has managed to keep up its high standard through years of change, now as Lille Muko. Another fine choir with quite a progressive repertoire was Cantilena.
In 1979 the vocal group Ars Nova was formed, specializing partly in Renaissance and Medieval music, partly in contemporary music. The choir has achieved remarkable success and, as mentioned earlier, has acquired professional status (See later). Moreover, a large number of chamber choirs have surfaced during the last decade, whose activities are best described as semi-professional. The average age of the members is low, many of them are music students, and a number of these choirs have won distinguished prizes in international competitions. Det jyske Kammerkor, Hymnia, Sokkelund Sangkor, Carmina, Gaia and Musica Ficta, to mention but a few of this category - in arbitrary order. Others - elder of origin, - are Tritonus and Camerata.
Not only the professional and semi-professional choirs but also choirs at a purely amateur level work with repertoires which are both progressive and wide-ranging. On the other hand, Danish choral compositions, apart from the exceptions mentioned earlier, have not yet achieved the international position warranted by their quality.
(1994, updated 2002)
Publishers of Danish choral music:
Publications from Edition Wilhelm Hansen (WH) and Edition Egtved:
http://www.ewh.dk/
Publications from Engstrøm & Sødring and Edition Kontrapunkt:
http://www.steeplechase.dk
Publications from The Society for the Publication of Danish Music (Edition Samfundet):
http://www.samfundet.dk
Music shop with a wide repertoire of Danish choral music:
http://www.danmusik.dk/index.htm
English translation: Henrik Aaes.
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You may contact the National Adviser
regarding exchange projects with Danish amateur choirs and orchestras.
The 8th World Symposium on Choral Music will take place in Copenhagen
July 19 - 27, 2008.
You can keep ourself updated at the Choral Denmark website.
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