Peder Steenberg (March 17, 1870 – June 28, 1947)''Store norske leksikon'': Per Steenberg.
/ref> was a Norwegian organist and composer from

Nedre Eiker Nedre Eiker was a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Eiker. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mjøndalen. The old municipality of Eiker was divided into ''Nedre Eiker' ...

, best known for his church music.

Life and career

Steenberg graduated from the Oslo Music Conservatory and also studied abroad in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. In Norway, he served as the organist at

Vålerenga Church Vålerenga Church (Norwegian: ''Vålerenga kirke'') is a church (building), church located in Oslo, Norway. Vålerenga church stands in the middle of Vålerenga park in the neighborhood of Vålerenga. The church belongs to the parish of Vålereng ...

(1902–1927) and at Saint Mark's Church (1927–1940). For several decades he taught vocal

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chord ...

and counterpoint at the

Oslo Conservatory of Music The Oslo Conservatory of Music () was a music school in Oslo, Norway. The school was established by Ludvig Mathias Lindeman and his son Peter Brynie Lindeman in 1883 in Christiania (as Oslo was then called) and was named the Organist School () ...

and at the teachers' college and school for the blind in Oslo. His compositions include religious cantatas and choral music, as well as organ music such as preludes, fugues, organ chorales, and similar. A stay in Denmark put him in touch with

Thomas Laub Thomas Linnemann Laub (5 December 1852 – 4 February 1927) was a Denmark, Danish organist and composer. He was associated with the 20th century revival of religious music in the country. Biography Thomas Laub was born on 5 December 1852. W ...

, and Steenberg prepared an unauthorized hymnal that was published in 1947 as an innovative alternative to the official hymnal of 1926; it was based on

Ludvig Mathias Lindeman Ludvig Mathias Lindeman (28 November 1812 – 11 March 1887) was a Norwegian composer and organist. He is most noted for compiling Norwegian folk music in his work ''Ældre og nyere norske Fjeldmelodier''. Background Ludvig Mathias Lindeman was ...

's hymnal and was edited by music authorities including

Eyvind Alnæs Eyvind Alnæs (29 April 1872 – 24 December 1932) was a Norwegian composer, pianist, organist and choir director. Personal life Alnæs was born in Fredrikstad, as the son of headmaster Johannes Jørgen Lauritz Alnæs (1835–1916) and Elise M ...

Ole Mørk Sandvik Ole Mørk Sandvik (9 May 1875 – 5 August 1976) was a Norwegian educator, musicologist and folk-song collector. Background Sandvik was born on the island of Helgøya, Innlandet, Helgøya in Hedmark, Norway. He was a son of school inspector Pau ...

, and

Arild Sandvold Arild Edvin Sandvold (June 2, 1895 – August 12, 1984) was a Norwegian organist, composer, and choir conductor. Sandvold spent most of his career as the cathedral organist and cantor at Oslo Cathedral and as an organ teacher at the Oslo Cons ...

. Steenberg's hymnal was adopted by enthusiasts such as Ingar Nilsen and Asbjørn Hernes. Gurvin, Olav. 1951. "Hvorfor søker I den levende blant de døde – Omkring Steenbergs koralbok." ''Verdens Gang'' (February 7).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steenberg, Per Norwegian organists Norwegian male organists Norwegian composers Norwegian male composers People from Nedre Eiker 1870 births 1947 deaths Oslo Conservatory of Music alumni Academic staff of the Oslo Conservatory of Music