Danish Yearbook of Musicology, volume 44 · 2020–21
Section 1 · Articles (volume 44:1)
The article investigates Carl Nielsen’s views on Richard Wagner in order to understand what might have driven him to discard one of his own songs, ‘In the Land of Dreams’ (‘I Drømmenes Land’), for having a Wagnerian sentiment. Nielsen’s varying opinions of Wagner are accounted for as well as Nielsen’s understanding of the nature of music. Based on these statements, a musical analysis of ‘In the Land of Dreams’ focuses on discovering and pointing out similarities between Nielsen’s idea of Wagner’s musical style and specific musical features in the song. Possible reasons behind Nielsen’s changing points of view are discussed, including to which extent Danish society could be said to have influenced and encouraged the discourse of Nielsen as anti-Wagner. It is concluded that both Nielsen and Danish society had multiple reasons for wanting to separate Nielsen from Wagner, such as Nielsen’s personal ambition to make a name for himself as a composer and Denmark’s need of a national hero, which only grew stronger following the German occupation. However, because of these agendas, the differences between Nielsen and Wagner have tended to be exaggerated as they do in fact share more musical ideals than one might assume, including a desire to liberate music’s own inner will through alternative harmonic approaches and an aversion for musical sentimentality and programme music.
Alyssa Bree Wells,
An Educational Example: Hanns Eisler’s Das Vorbild Revisited, pp. 39–55
Situating Hanns Eisler’s Das Vorbild within the contexts of the 1952 Festtage zeitgenössischer Musik and his educational impulse presents a starkly different interpretation of the work and its legacy. The debates that occurred between the Stakuko and the VDK – and within each organization – reveal (in)congruencies in the interpretation of socialist realism. These shared goals for socialist realism provide a lens through which Das Vorbild can be understood as exemplifying socialist-realist compositional practice. Yet, his ideas on educating listeners through music is found throughout his career. Das Vorbild and its contexts provide a more refined conception of the overlap between his compositional – and pedagogical – methods and ideas.
Section 2 · Reviews (volume 44:2)
Jens Henrik Koudal,
Træk af musiketnologien i Sverige i 2010’erne.
Review essay, pp. 3–12
Owe Ronström and Gunnar Ternhag (eds.), Musiketnologi – elva repliker om en vetenskap. Acta academiae regiae Gustavi Adolphi, 147. Uppsala 2017
Märta Ramsten, De osynliga melodierna. Musikvärlder i 1800-talets skillingtryck. Skrifter utgivna af Svenskt visarkiv, 48. Stockholm 2019
Gunnar Ternhag and Märta Ramsten (eds.), ‘En alldeles egen och förträfflig National-Musik’: nio författare om Svenska folk-visor från forntiden (1814-1818). Acta academiae regiae Gustavi Adolphi, 139. Uppsala 2015
Märta Ramsten, Mathias Boström, Karin L. Eriksson and Magnus Gustafsson (eds.), Spelmansböcker i Norden. Perspektiv på handskrivna notböcker. Acta academiae regiae Gustavi Adolphi, 159. Uppsala og Vexjö 2019
Section 3 · Bibliography (volume 44:3)
Anne Ørbæk Jensen,
Bibliography of Danish musicology 2019, pp. 3–37
Section 4 · Reports and Editorial (volume 44:4)
Research project
Editorial by Michael Fjeldsøe & Peter Hauge, p. 4
Publications received, pp. 5-6
Danish Musicological Society, p. 7