Halfdan Kjerulf

As a child Kjerulf studied the piano and probably advanced theory at home; there were no opportunities in Christiania (Oslo, now) during his early years to study formally. It was not until 1841 that his first compositions were published but much of his time was spent supporting his brothers and sisters because his mother, father and one of his sisters died in 1840. Working as a journalist Kjerulf took care of his siblings and also composed. He became a conductor of an all male student's chorus and founded his own male quartet. His formal training followed with Arnold in Christiania, Gade in Copenhagen and Richter in Leipzig. The cultured compositions began developing after his studies in Copenhagen and Leipzig. Three genres of musical literature dominated his efforts: settings of folk music, songs, and piano pieces. The folk melodies included settings for Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German and French texts and the music was highly influenced by Norwegian folk melodies. "Evening mood," "Ingrid's Song," " and "Synnove's song," were dependent on Norwegian dance motifs. In his other songs Kjerulf used simple structures and gave prominence to the voice over the piano. The piano was arranged to depict the general mood of the pieces in shorter as well as more elaborate songs. His piano compositions were his most Romantic compositions including "Wiegenlied," and his "Berceuse," and "Caprice," from the collection entitled "New Sketches." Kjerulf employed the use of strong dissonances and two bar motifs but also successfully conjoined Norwegian folk elements with Romantic features. ~ Keith Johnson