Aksel Agerby (29 May 1889 – 20 March 1942) was a Danish composer, organist, and music administrator. He also operated his own

Music Publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectua ...

company, which published both his work and those of others.

Work

Agerby was blind and was trained as an organist and pianist at the Danish Royal Blind Institute and the Copenhagen Organist School. From 1921, he was an organist at Copenhagen Funeral services. From 1930 until his death, he played the organ at

Brønshøj Brønshøj, part of the municipality of Copenhagen, forms, together with Husum, the administrative city district (''bydel'') of Brønshøj-Husum, in Denmark. History The first mention of the village Brønshøj (Brunshoga), is in a letter dated ...

Church. Today, he is chiefly remembered for one small piece of music, the melody for ''Jeg er havren''. A few other songs of his were recorded, some with

Aksel Schiøtz Aksel Schiøtz (1 September 190619 April 1975) was a Danish tenor and later baritone, who was considered one of Europe's leading lieder singers of the post-World War II period.Alan Blyth"Review: The Singer and His Art by Aksel Schiøtz" ''The Musi ...

. His musical output also included some songs and a few instrumental compositions, sometimes backed up by an orchestra. Most of his music was written for

keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers that are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital pianos ...

. He also composed a number of works for choirs, as well as a handful of pieces for larger ensembles. His legacy and importance to the Danish music scene lies elsewhere. He was an energetic and charismatic President of the DUT (the Young Musical Artists Society), which was, and continues to be, involved in the

International Society for Contemporary Music The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

. Agerby was chairman of the DUT from 1929 until his death, and had strong opinions and the ability to make things happen. He managed to execute a merger with the New Music (''Ny Musik'') Organization, thereby creating a more powerful association for contemporary music.

Compositions

Piano Music

*Jeg er havren (1916) *Spurvene ved Helliggejst *Jyske viser (10 songs) *Flammende ungdom *Jeg ved ej hvorfra du kommer *Majnat *Liljekonval *Vintergækker *En Dag *Vor mor *Hørvise *Hvide børn og sorte børn

Choral compositions

*Vor tid (mixed choir) *Glæde over foråret (male choir) *Danmark, kære mor (male choir) *Kløver (male choir)

Other compositions

*Intermezzo (oboe and orchestra) *Elegi (oboe and orchestra) *Intermezzo pastorale (violin and piano) *Humoreske (violin and piano) *Aftenvandring (orchestra) *Berceuse (violin and orchestra)

References

Danish: article in the DMT on the occasion of Agerby's 50th birthday
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agerby, Aksel 1889 births 1942 deaths Danish classical composers Danish male classical composers Danish classical organists Danish male classical organists 20th-century Danish organists 20th-century Danish male musicians Blind musicians