Editing Music of Norway (section)

==Norwegian choir tradition==
The oldest material evidence of choral music in Norway belongs to the 12th century, and as in all European choral singing, it was cultivated in monasteries and then in education centres, initially for religious purposes. Both the Catholic era and later the Lutheran reform of choral singing was important. However, the beginnings of a Norwegian tradition of choral singing itself took place during the 19th century.

On the one hand the cession of Norway from Denmark to Sweden arose a strong nationalist cultural motivation. On the other hand, the ideas [[Hans Georg Nägeli]] (1773–1836, Swiss) and [[Carl Friedrich Zelter]] (1758–1832, Germany) had given to choral singing reputed to be a particularly effective means of decimation of culture.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}} This tradition is the joint work of composers, conductors, singing teachers and choral music publications. Lars Roverud, Friedrich August Reissiger, Ludvig Mathias Lindeman, Halfdan Kjerulf, Johan Conradi, and Johan Diederich Behrens are just some of the names that formed this Norwegian tradition before Edvard Grieg. They took more than one role in this complex socio-cultural development, each having a special merit.

The main contribution of [[Ludvig Mathias Lindeman]] was his collection of folk music and hymnody compilations, as well as the organization of a school for organists in 1883, which later became the Conservatory of Oslo. Kjerulf, Behrens and Conradi were the three directors of choirs and organizers of choral societies, but there was no doubt that Kjerulf stood out as composer, leaving more than 170 choral pieces, mostly for male quartet. Behrens and Conradi rather had a social role by organizing festivals such as the Craftmen Choir and the Businessmen Choir, as well as the Norwegian Students' Choir in Oslo and gradually in other regions. Behrens has a special reputation for having published compilations of Norwegian composers; there are over 500 songs in his volumes of "Collections of Part Songs for Male Voices".

The most influential era of these musicians was during the second half of the 19th century, a time when the popularity of choral singing spread throughout Norway, especially male singing for four voices. Proof of this is the legacy chorale singing left in the U.S., especially since the founding of St. Olaf College Choir by F. Melius Christiansen in 1912; there were said to be 3000 in attendance at mass services.

The choral tradition has since been used to strengthen the Norwegian identity. Conradi, Kjerulf and Reissiger wrote choral music with lyrics from Norwegian writers such as Ibsen or Bjørnson, who in turn wrote with the intention that their texts could be easily added to music. The 19th century was a time of intense collaboration between writers and composers, to use the existing popularity of musical societies and especially the male quartets were particularly popular from the 1840s.{{Clarify|reason=This sentence is confusing|date=May 2021}}
A second generation of conductors and composers continued this tradition until the beginning of the 20th century (Andreas Olaus Grøndahl in Oslo, and in Bergen Ingolf Schjøtt). The popularity of choral societies and choral festivals led to the first competitions starting in the 1850s. In 1878 the Choral Society held its first student events outside Scandinavia bringing Norwegian music and texts to Paris, this being a way to export and show Norwegian culture.

The nationalist motivation is exposed in the music of Grieg. Despite the tradition that remained during the transition to the 20th century, Norwegian choral music eventually changed, especially after WW1 when romantic ideals were abandoned. A new generation of composers arose including Egge, Nysted, and Sommerfeldt.{{Clarify|reason=Who is being referred to here, specifically? Couldn't find relevant first names since I don't know enough about the topic|date=May 2021}} These composers are still influenced by Grieg and found inspiration in not only national elements but also more recent musical trends.

Finally, more recent eras of economic prosperity in Norway has brought a second boom of choral music in the capital and beyond. [[Volda (village)|Volda]] for example, a village of about 7,000 people in western Norway, has about 20 active choirs.<ref>*http://www.culturalprofiles.net/norway/Directories/Norway_Cultural_Profile/-2052.html
* http://www.bylarm.no/eng/pages/124-about_bylarm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711155337/http://bylarm.no/eng/pages/124-about_bylarm |date=2012-07-11 }}
* http://www.spellemann.no/, http://www.nrk.no/kjempesjansen/
* Shepherd, John. Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World. London: Continuum, 2003, Vol. 3 Europe, pp. 271, 273.</ref>