Table Of Content(cid:13)c 2011 by Cathrine Blom. All rights reserved.
KJERULF AND WELHAVEN:
THE ADVENT OF ROMANTIC LIEDER AND POETRY
IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY NORWAY
BY
CATHRINE BLOM
DISSERTATION
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology
in the Graduate College of the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011
Urbana, Illinois
Doctoral Committee:
Professor William Kinderman, Chair and Director of Research
Professor Christina Bashford
Professor Gayle Sherwood Magee
Professor Rochelle Wright
UMI Number: 3503318
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Abstract
This thesis traces the development of the romantic Lied and poetry in Norway in the first
half of the nineteenth century, a development driven by by two closely intertwined figures,
the composer Halfdan Kjerulf (1815-1868) and the poet Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer
Welhaven (1807-1873). Welhaven was Norway’s first Romantic poet in the Heidelberg tra-
dition, a trend which took its inspiration from folklore, folk music, and medieval myths. His
probing nationalistic depiction of nature, interwoven with supernatural folkloristic elements,
and his elegiac-erotic and lyrical poetry inspired Kjerulf to create the Norwegian romance,
Den norske romanse, modeling it initially on the German Lied. During the years from 1840
to 1868, Kjerulf set 43 Welhaven poems to music – 24 for solo voice and piano – and with
his more than 130 songs established the Norwegian art-song that Edvard Grieg would build
on during the decades following Kjerulf’s death.
After presenting the cultural and political background in Norway, the intertwined lives of
the poet and composer and their European cultural heritage, this thesis turns to a detailed
analysis of the complete Welhaven romances for one voice, and demonstrates how Kjerulf
and Welhaven, initially oriented towards Denmark and Europe, the Danish language and
the German Lied, developed a growing appreciation for national traits and language. These
features became visible in their works from the 1850s onward through Kjerulf’s development
of art songs infused with elements drawn from Norwegian folk music, and Welhaven’s in-
clusion of folk myths and folklore in his poetry, accompanied by a gradual replacement of
Danish words with the Norwegian vernacular.
This work is based primarily on archival material: Kjerulf’s extensive collection of dairies
and letters, as well as Welhaven’s large correspondence, travel sketches, polemical writings,
and literary research; and the biographical works of Nils Grinde, Børre Qvamme, Ingard
Hauge, Arne Løcken, and Anne-Lise Seip.
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To my loving family, both in Norway and the United States
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Acknowledgments
I am forever grateful to my parents for giving me a love of music. My mother’s family
introduced me as a child to Halfdan Kjerulf, whose wonderful romances were performed as
Hausmusik in our home, as well as in other family members’ homes, throughout my youth.
Our admirationforKjerulf wastwofold: we treasured his music andfelt aparticular affection
towards the composer as my maternal grandfather’s grandmother’s uncle.
Ithasbeenaspecial pleasuretoworkwithmyadviser ProfessorWilliamKinderman, who
wholeheartedly supported me in this project, beginning with my Master’s thesis, and who
constantly gave me valuable guidance; his critical reading of this thesis very much improved
it. I am grateful to the other members of my dissertation committee, Professors Christina
Bashford, Gayle Magee, and Rochelle Wright; their thoughtful advice significantly expanded
the perspective of this thesis.
I also wish to thank my external adviser Professor Emeritus Nils Grinde of the University
of Oslo, the leading expert on Kjerulf, who carefully improved my analysis of the Welhaven
songs. HealsoverykindlysharedwithmehismaterialonWelhaven, transcribedtheromance
Ved Havet for this thesis, and provided information that was difficult to obtain from other
sources. I spent a wonderful afternoon in Oslo with the great Kjerulf curator, Dr. Halfdan
Kierulf, a direct descendent of the composer’s uncle; I thank him in particular for sharing
his Kjerulf scores, pictures and other memorabilia with me. I would also like to thank the
archivistsattheNationalLibraryinOslofortheirhelpwithfindinglettersandothermaterial
relating to Kjerulf, the National Library in Copenhagen for greatly expediting my research,
and most of all, the members of the staff of the Music Library at the University of Illinois,
including Marlys Scarbrough, Christopher Pawlicki, William Buss, and John Wagstaff, who
have been truly remarkable in helping me when I most needed it. Finally I would like to
thank my husband Gordon Baym for his unending encouragement, patience, cooking, and
technical help during my writing of this thesis.
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Table of Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 1 The Composer and the Poet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Upbringing and education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Poetry and music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Later years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Chapter 2 The European Heritage of Kjerulf and Welhaven . . . . . . . 55
Aesthetic influences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
The aesthetic legacy of Sagen, Oehlenschl¨ager, Heiberg, and Schiller . . . . . . . . 57
Romantic poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Romantic song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
The Norwegian art song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Chapter 3 The Early Welhaven Romances: 1841-1849 . . . . . . . . . . . 71
1. Nøkken [The Water Sprite] HK 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
2. Bernart af Ventadour HK 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
3. Elveløbet [The River’s Run] HK 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
4. Veiviseren synger [The Mountain Wanderer sings] HK 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
5. Ved Havet [By the Sea] HK 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
6. Stille Liv [Quiet Life] HK 32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
7. Aftenstemning [Evening Mood] HK 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
8. Buesnoren [The Bow String] HK 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
9. Paa Fjeldet [In the Mountain] HK 43 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
10. Af “Alfernes Hvisken” [From “The Elves’ Whisper”] HK 42 . . . . . . . . . . 135
Chapter 4 The Late Welhaven Romances: 1850-1868 . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
11. En Vaarnat [A Spring Night] HK 58 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
12. Min Elskte, jeg er bunden [My Beloved, I am spellbound] HK 65 . . . . . . . 152
13. Foraarsdigt [Spring Poem] HK 69, HK 154 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
14. Aftenkvad i Maaneskin [Evening song in the Moonlight] HK 79 . . . . . . . . 171
15. Lokkende Toner [Alluring Strains] HK 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
16. Hvile i Skoven [Rest in the Woods] HK 110 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
17. Alfeland [Land of Elves] HK 113 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
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18. Sangens Væld [The Poetic Well] HK 142 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
19. Taushed og Sang [Silence and Poetry] HK 147 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
20. Hjemfart [Homeward Journey] HK 152 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
21. Ved Sundet [By the Strait] HK 165 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
22. En Sommersang [A Summer Song] HK 200 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
23. Den friske Sang [The Frisky Song] HK 213 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
24. Bergens Stift [Bergen Diocese] HK 216 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Postlude: Reception, Influence, and Legacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Afterword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Appendix: The Kjerulf Welhaven Romances for One Voice . . . . . . . . . 259
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Primary sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Secondary sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
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Halfdan Kjerulf, 1815-1868
“I still would sincerely hope that he never will become a Norwegian musician. He might, like
me, end up singing about the happiness of love, but himself have to do without it. (Kjerulf’s
letter to a friend congratulating him on the birth of a son.) [“Fremdeles vil jeg inderlig ønske
ham, at han aldrig maa vorde norsk Musikus. Det kunde da gaae ham som mig at synge om
Kærligheds Lykke og selv at maatte undvære den.” ]
1
Description:This thesis traces the development of the romantic Lied and poetry in Norway in the first half of the nineteenth century, a development driven by by two closely intertwined figures, the composer Halfdan Kjerulf (1815–1868) and the poet Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer Welhaven (1807–1873). Welhaven w
