Sigurd Islandsmoen (August 27, 1881 – July 1, 1964) was a Norwegian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. Sigurd Islandsmoen made significant contributions to the music of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

. In all he wrote some 70 opuses, among these five feature-length works for orchestra, choir and soloists. He is perhaps best known for his composition ''Requiem'' written between 1935 and 1936 and first premiered in 1943.

Background

Sigurd Islandsmoen was born in

Bagn Bagn is the administrative centre of Sør-Aurdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in the Begnadalen valley, about to the southeast of the town of Fagernes. The river Begna runs through the village on its way thr ...

(

Sør-Aurdal Municipality Sør-Aurdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bagn. Other villages in the municipality include Begna, Hedalen, ...

), in

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...

county, Norway. He grew up on the family farm, the youngest of nine siblings. He was the brother of Norwegian educator and politician, Olaus Islandsmoen. He studied at the music academy of Oslo, later as well 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 ...

, where amongst others

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

was his teacher. The time in Leipzig is believed to have had a great influence on his musical development, and especially the organist

Karl Straube Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube (6 January 1873 – 27 April 1950) was a German church musician, organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. Career Born in Berlin, Straube stu ...

(1873–1950) and conductor

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungary, Hungarian conducting, conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter ...

(1855–1922). He took an exam at

Elverum Elverum () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Elverum ( ...

Teacher Academy in 1904 and worked as a teacher from 1904 to 1916. First he worked as a teacher and organist for some years in his home village of Bagn, and later he worked for the six years as music teacher in

Gjøvik Gjøvik () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Gjøvik (town), town of Gjøvik. Some of the villages in Gjøvik include Biri, Norway, Biri, Bybrua, ...

. From 1916 to 1961 he was church organist in

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

. Through his position as organist at Moss, he made a great effort for the city's musical life. He initiated the formation of Moss Orchestra Association in 1924 and served as conductor for a long series of years. He was also the leader of several local choir and bands as well.

Career

He composed numerous oratorios and orchestral works, chamber music, piano, organ and choir works. Perhaps his most popular work is the song ''Det lysnet i skogen'' with lyrics by

Jørgen Moe Jørgen Engebretsen Moe (22 April 1813–27 March 1882) was a Norwegian folklorist, bishop, poet, and author. He is best known for the '' Norske Folkeeventyr'', a collection of Norwegian folk tales which he edited in collaboration with Pe ...

. Other notable pieces include ''Requiem'' (premiered in 1943), an opera – ''Gudrun Laugar'', two symphonies, oratorios, ''Israel i fangenskap'' (premiered in 1931) and ''Heimat frå Babel'' (first performed in 1934), the choral work ''

Missa solemnis is Latin for Solemn Mass.Mass
, ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. N.p., Appleton, 1910. 797. and is a genre of < ...

'' (premiered in 1954), two symphonies, ''Norsk Ouvertyre'' and other orchestral works, chamber music, piano and organ works and a number of choral works.''Sigurd Islandsmoen / utdypning'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref> Islandsmoen was knighted by First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav and from 1952 received a Government artist salary. Bagn Bygdesamling, a small museum on the home farm at Sør-Aurdal, created by Islandsmoen's brother Olaus, contains an exhibition of the composer's work. A teacher at

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 () ...

, his students include Bjørn Fongaard.

Selected works

* ''Norsk Ouvertyre'', (1913) * ''Israel i fangenskap'', (1931) * ''Heimatt frå Babel'', (1934) * ''Requiem'', (1943) * ''Missa Solemnis'', (1954) * ''Missa Nidrosiense'', (1963) * ''Gudrun Laugar'', (1964)

References

External links

Islandsmoen's ''Requiem''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Islandsmoen, Sigurd 1881 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Norwegian classical composers Norwegian classical organists Norwegian male classical organists People from Sør-Aurdal Musicians from Moss, Norway Norwegian male classical composers Academic staff of the Oslo Conservatory of Music 20th-century Norwegian organists 20th-century Norwegian male musicians