Anfinn Hans August Øien (March 29, 1922 − November 12, 2018) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

organist and music teacher. Øien was born in

Aurskog Aurskog is a former municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre was Aursmoen Aursmoen is a village in the municipality of Aurskog-Høland, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries ...

, and grew up on the Øien farm until he moved to Oslo in 1939 for upper secondary education.''Store norske leksikon'': Anfinn Øien.
/ref> He studied at the

Oslo Conservatory of Music Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

and under the organist Finn Viderø in Copenhagen. He started working as a church organist in 1946, including at Lilleborg Church in Oslo.Arntzen, Jon Gunnar. 1994. ''Hvem er hvem?'' Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget, p. 616. He started teaching at the Oslo Conservatory of Music in 1966 and served as its head from 1969 to 1973. After the

Norwegian Academy of Music The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the co ...

was established in 1973, he served as a senior instructor of harmony and counterpoint from 1973 to 1984, and then held the position of full professor from 1985 to 1990. He composed church music and also music for the hymn "Guds menighet er jordens største under" (God's Congregation Is Earth's Greatest Wonder) by

Ronald Fangen Ronald Fangen (29 April 1895 – 22 May 1946) was a Norwegian novelist, essayist, playwright, psalmist, journalist and literary critic. Biography Ronald August Fangen was born at Kragerø in Telemark, Norway. His parents were Sten August Fan ...

, and he published a popular book on music theory.Bækkelund, Kjell. 1976. Tiltalende harmonilære. ''Verdens Gang'' (6 March). He set 16 hymns by

Per Lønning Per Lønning (24 February 1928 – 21 August 2016) was a Norwegian Lutheran bishop and politician. Lønning received a Doctor of Theology degree from the University of Oslo in 1955 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1958. Lønning began his ...

to music in 2000, published by Cantando music publishers in Stavanger, and one of them was adopted as a new city song of Oslo. Øien resided at

Blommenholm Blommenholm is a district in the municipality of Bærum, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost ...

between 1968 and 2002, when he moved back to Aurskog. He was the grandfather of the guitarist Anders Clemens Øien. In 2002 he was awarded the King's Medal of Merit in gold.Det norske kongehus.
/ref>

Publications

*''Andreasmesse, en generasjonsgudstjeneste'' (St. Andrew's Fair, a Worship Service for Youth; booklet and CD, 2000). Hymns by Svein Ellingsen. *''Harmonilære: funksjonell harmonikk i homofon sats'' (Harmony: Functional Harmony and Homophonic Theory; 1975)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oien, Anfinn 1922 births 2018 deaths People from Aurskog-Høland Norwegian organists Norwegian male organists Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Oslo Conservatory of Music alumni Academic staff of the Oslo Conservatory of Music Norwegian expatriates in Denmark