Carsten Thorvald Woll (1885-1962) was a leading

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

singer and recording artist of the 1910s and 1920s.

Biography

The singer and composer Carsten Woll was born in

Oslo, Norway 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 ...

. He took his student exams in 1903 and subsequently studied music and voice in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

.''Norsk pop- og rockleksikon'', (Oslo: Vega Forlag, 2005). Woll immigrated to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1913 and was a professor first at

Luther Seminary Luther Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the largest seminary of the ELCA. It also accepts and educates students of 41 other denominations and traditions. It is accredited ...

in St. Paul, Minnesota and then at St. Olaf College in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. N ...

. In 1926 he also became the director of the Woll Music Studio in

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 20 ...

. After retiring as a teacher of singing and music at St. Olaf College in 1951, he moved to

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

Music

Carsten Woll was one of the big names in

music with nearly two thousand live performances and frequent appearances at choral festivals. He wrote several songs and compiled a songbook that was published by the

Sons of Norway Sons of Norway ( no, Sønner av Norge), founded in 1895 as the Independent Order of the Sons of Norway, is a fraternal organization principally representing people of Norwegian-American, Norwegian heritage in the United States and Canada. The or ...

in 1926. There were over one hundred

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 ...

songs in the collection as well as ''Home, Sweet Home'' and the songs of

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Minstrel show, minstrel music during the Romantic music, Romantic ...

.''Sangbog for Sønner af Norge'' edited by Carsten Woll, (Minneapolis: Sønner af Norges forlag, 1926). Woll's popularity as a singer made him one of the most sought-after

recording artists in the acoustic period. From 1913 to 1925 he recorded almost 200 titles for a number of record companies. Most of his recordings were made for

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

and Columbia, but he also appeared on the Edison,

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

Okeh Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

and Brunswick labels.''Ethnic Music on Records: A Discography of Ethnic Recordings Produced in the United States, 1893-1942'' by Richard K. Spottswood, (University of Illinois Press, 1990) LCCN 89-020526. Volume 5, pp. 2640 - 2646.
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immigrants in

had a strong emotional attachment to the folk melodies of their homeland, and Carsten Woll probably made more recordings of traditional

folk songs than any other artist. His discography included ''Eg gjette Tulla'', ''Eg veit ei lita jente'', ''Kjerringa med staven'' and ''Og reven lå under birkerot''. On the other hand, his recording of ''Sommersol til siste stund'' was a Norwegian version of ''Silver threads among the gold''.

Gallery

File:Carsten_Woll.jpg, Carsten Woll in Victor catalog File:Bockman_Hall.jpg, Luther Seminary File:Old-Main-St-Olaf-College-Northfield-Minnesota.jpg, St. Olaf College File:SonsofNorwayMPLS.JPG, Sons of Norway headquarters

References

External links

* ;1926 Songbook
PrefaceIndex
;Historic Newspapers
Carsten Woll
;Discographies
Carsten Woll
on

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

.
Carsten Woll
in 1921 Victor Catalog.
Carsten Woll
on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. ;Streaming audio at the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project
Carsten WollNorwegian songs
;Streaming audio at the Library of Congress
Carsten WollNorwegian songs
;Streaming audio at the Internet Archive
Carsten WollOlle i Gråthult:
More songs recorded by Woll and others.
Norwegian songsNorwegian singers
;Gustavus Adolphus College
College and Lutheran Church ArchivesCarsten Woll audioNorwegian songs
;Norwegian songs
''Aa kjøre vatten aa kjøre ved''
* ''Deilig er jorden''
''Den store hvide flok vi se''''Eg gjette Tulla''
* ''Kan du glemme gamle Norge''
''Kjerringa med staven''
* ''Og reven lå under birkerot''
''Syng mig hjæm''''Sætergjentens Søndag''
;Songs from English * ''My heart and lute''
''My heart and lute:'' Norwegian
* ''Silver threads among the gold'' * ''Silver threads among the gold:'' Norwegian ;Swedish song * ''Ingalill''
''Ingalill:'' English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woll, Carsten 1885 births 1962 deaths Brunswick Records artists Columbia Records artists Edison Records artists Musicians from Eugene, Oregon Norwegian emigrants to the United States Okeh Records artists American operatic tenors Musicians from Oslo St. Olaf College faculty Victor Records artists Vocalion Records artists Singers from Oregon 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century Norwegian male singers Classical musicians from Oregon

Biography

Music

See also

Gallery

References

External links