Marcus Nicolay Paus (; born 14 October 1979) is a Norwegian composer and one of the most performed contemporary Scandinavian composers.
As a classical contemporary composer he is noted as a representative of a reorientation toward tradition,
tonality
Tonality is the arrangement of pitches and/or chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, attractions and directionality. In this hierarchy, the single pitch or triadic chord with the greatest stability is call ...
and
melody
A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
, and his works have been lauded by critics
in Norway and abroad. His work includes
chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...
,
choral
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
works, solo works, concerts, orchestral works,
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s,
symphonies and
church music
Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn.
History
Early Christian music
The onl ...
, as well as works for theatre, film and television. Paus is regarded as "one of the most celebrated classical composers of Norway"
and "the leading Norwegian composer of his generation."
Although often tonal and melodically driven, Paus's music employs a wide range of both traditional and
modernist
Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
techniques, and several of Paus's works have been influenced by
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
and non-Western
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
. Paus has referred to himself as a "
melodist," "anarcho-traditionalist" or a humanist composer, and is known for advocating musical pluralism. He has "garnered a reputation as a prolific, versatile, and highly communicative contemporary composer" whose "works revolve around a strong appreciation for the functional use of traditional harmonies and form, combined with his uniquely idiosyncratic contemporary expressive language."
He has also been described as a lyrical modernist or a
postmodern composer. In 2022 Paus was commissioned by the
Norwegian Armed Forces
The Norwegian Armed Forces ( no, Forsvaret, , The Defence) is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal ...
to write a major "identity-building and unifying" work for the armed forces.
Marcus Paus has set to music poets and writers such as
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles.
From a conflicted and unhap ...
,
W.B. Yeats,
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
,
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...
,
Richard Wilbur
Richard Purdy Wilbur (March 1, 1921 – October 14, 2017) was an American poet and literary translator. One of the foremost poets of his generation, Wilbur's work, composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentle ...
,
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
,
Christina Rossetti
Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Brit ...
,
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.
Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...
and
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...
, and Norwegians
André Bjerke
Jarl André Bjerke (30 January 1918 – 10 January 1985) was a Norwegian writer and poet. He wrote a wide range of material: poems (both for children and adults), mystery novels (four of them under the pseudonym Bernhard Borge), essays, and arti ...
,
Jens Bjørneboe
Jens Ingvald Bjørneboe (9 October 1920 – 9 May 1976) was a Norwegian writer whose work spanned a number of literary formats. He was also a painter and a Waldorf school teacher. Bjørneboe was a harsh and eloquent critic of Norwegian society an ...
,
Arne Garborg
Arne Garborg (born Aadne Eivindsson Garborg) (25 January 1851 – 14 January 1924) was a Norwegian writer.
Garborg championed the use of Landsmål (now known as Nynorsk, or New Norwegian), as a literary language; he translated the Odyssey into ...
,
Knut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, perspective a ...
,
Johan Falkberget
Johan Falkberget, born Johan Petter Lillebakken, (30 September 1879 – 5 April 1967) was a Norwegian author. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Life and career
Johan Falkberget was born on the Lillebakken farm in the Rugl ...
,
Harald Sverdrup and
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
. His church music works include ''
O Magnum Mysterium
O magnum mysterium is a responsorial chant from the Matins of Christmas.
Text
The text is drawn from the Matins of Christmas in the Roman Breviary.
; Latin text:
: O magnum mysterium,
: et admirabile sacramentum,
: ut animalia viderent Do ...
'' and ''
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
''. He is one of the few Norwegian contemporary opera composers and has written several operas for children in cooperation with Ole Paus. He co-hosts the podcast series ''Paus og Castle blir kloke på musikklivet'' (Paus and Castle Figure Out Music Life) with punk and rap musician Kim Morten Mohn.
Background
Marcus Paus was born in
Oslo
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 ...
and is a son of one of Norway's best known singer-songwriters
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
and the former pop star
Anne-Karine Strøm.
He grew up in Oslo's
Røa
Røa is a neighbourhood and a former administrative borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. In 2004 the borough of Røa was merged with neighbouring Vinderen to become Vestre Aker borough.
Røa is a suburb of Oslo, located approximately 7 kilometer ...
borough. His grandfather, General
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
, was head of the army group in the military intelligence service of the exile
Norwegian High Command The Norwegian High Command ( no, Forsvarets Overkommando, FO) was Norway's top military leadership from 1970 to 2003. It was established in Northern Norway in 1940 by General Otto Ruge. It was then re-established by the Norwegian Government-in-exile ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, one of the founders of the
Norwegian Intelligence Service
The Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS) or Etterretningstjenesten (E-tjenesten) is a Norwegian military intelligence agency under the Chief of Defence and the Ministry of Defence.
History
Olav Njølstad says that the "stay-behind cooperation ...
and later the highest-ranking Norwegian in
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
's Command Structure in the 1970s; he was born and raised in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
to the Norwegian Consul-General
Thorleif Paus
Thorleif Paus (; 8 October 1881 – 9 June 1976), also known as Thorleif de Paus or Thorleif von Paus, was a Norwegian diplomat, estate owner and businessman. As a 23 year old consular secretary he became Norway's only diplomatic representative to ...
and a Viennese mother, Ella Stein, whose family had converted from Judaism to Catholicism. The family name was officially spelled "von Paus" (or sometimes "de Paus") in
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, although the family didn't use a particle in Norwegian. The
Paus family
The Paus family () is a Norwegian family that first appeared as members of the elite of 16th-century Oslo and that for centuries belonged to Norway's "aristocracy of officials" as priests of the state church, judges and other higher government of ...
belonged to the regional elite governing
Upper Telemark
Upper Telemark ( no, Øvre Telemark) is a Norwegian region comprising the inland of the traditional district Telemark in Vestfold og Telemark county. More than two thirds of the total area of Telemark, or above 10,000 square kilometres, belong to ...
from the early 17th century, the "
aristocracy of officials "Aristocracy of officials" and "civil service aristocracy" (Danish and Norwegian: ''embedsaristokratiet'' or ''embetsaristokratiet'') are terms used by historians to denote the elite social class ( aristocracy) of university-educated higher state ...
" consisting of judges and priests of the state
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...
; his family branch settled as merchants and ship-owners in the port town of
Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsj ...
in the late 18th century and were noted as millionaire steel industrialists in Christiania (Oslo) in the 19th and 20th centuries. The family were the closest relatives of playwright
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...
, who was a first cousin of Marcus Paus's great-great-grandfather, steel industrialist
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
.
His grandfather and great-grandfather owned
Kvesarum Castle in Sweden until 1951.
In 2019 he married the composer and singer
Tirill Mohn, a former member of the
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
band
White Willow
''Salix alba'', the white willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. .Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain an ...
and a descendant of the artists
Christian Krohg
Christian Krohg (13 August 1852 – 16 October 1925) was a Norwegian naturalist painter, illustrator, author and journalist. Krohg was inspired by the realism art movement and often chose motifs from everyday life. He was the director and s ...
and
Oda Krohg
Oda Krohg (born Othilia Pauline Christine Lasson; 11 June 1860 – 19 October 1935) was a Norwegian painter, and the wife of her teacher and colleague Christian Krohg.
Biography
She was the second daughter of public attorney Christian ...
; he and his wife are distantly related as both are descendants of Norway's first attorney-general
Bredo Henrik von Munthe af Morgenstierne Sr.
Career
Paus attended
Oslo Waldorf School. As a high school student at a musical high school he was profoundly influenced by his teacher, composer
Trygve Madsen
Trygve Madsen (born 15 February 1940) is a Norwegian composer and pianist.
Early life and education
Born in Fredrikstad, Madsen demonstrated musical ability at an early age when he began to learn to play the piano at age six and first started comp ...
. He also took two summer courses at the
Musicians Institute
Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...
in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
in the mid 1990s. During his teenage years from the early 1990s he was active as a
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
guitarist, and he was recognised in ''
The Guinness Book of Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' as the world's fastest guitarist in the mid 1990s. Paus left the progressive rock scene around 1997 and was later described as "the last guitar hero."
He studied at 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 ...
from 1998 to 2002; at the age of 18, he became one of its youngest students ever to be accepted at its composer programme. Among his teachers were
Olav Anton Thommessen
Olav Anton Thommessen (born 16 May 1946) is a Norwegian contemporary composer who has been one of the foremost modernist composers in Norway since the 1970s. His main compositions include ''Et glassperlespill'' and ''Gjennom Prisme''. He was a pro ...
. Paus made his debut as a composer in 2000 with String Quartet No. 1, based on pictures by Edvard Munch, which won the Oslo Grieg Society's award. After graduating, he left for
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he studied classical composition at the
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...
from 2003 to 2005. In New York he was a student of
Richard Danielpour
Richard Danielpour (born January 28, 1956) is an American composer.
Early life
Danielpour was born in New York City of Persian Jewish descent and grew up in New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida. He studied at Oberlin College and the New E ...
and spent a semester working as his assistant. Paus's breakthrough as a leading young composer came in 2008, with ''
Missa Concertante
''Missa Concertante'' is a mass composed by Marcus Paus in 2008. It was first performed by Oslo Chamber Choir, principal cathedral organist Kåre Nordstoga, saxophonist Rolf Erik Nystrøm, percussionist Katrine Nyheim and Oslo String Quartet at ...
'', written for the Oslo International Church Music Festival.
His first opera, ''
The Witches'', with a libretto by Ole Paus, is also from that year. In 2010, he was
artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...
of the Oslo Opera Festival.
["Marcus Paus, composer," ''Meet the Artist'', 1 November 2017] Paus lived and worked in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
from 2011 to 2016, when he returned to Norway. Paus became a member of the
Norwegian Society of Composers
The Norwegian Society of Composers ( no, Norsk Komponistforening) was founded in 1917. The Society's main objectives are to promote its members' music and secure their rights.
As of today the Society counts 185 members who meet regularly for discu ...
in 2005, and has been one of the four members of its music committee, its expert body in artistic matters, since 2019.
Musical style
Paus is a noted representative of a reorientation toward tradition,
tonality
Tonality is the arrangement of pitches and/or chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, attractions and directionality. In this hierarchy, the single pitch or triadic chord with the greatest stability is call ...
and
melody
A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
. Although often tonal and melodically driven, Paus's music employs a wide range of both
traditional
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
and
modernist
Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
techniques, including
aleatoricism
Aleatoricism or aleatorism, the noun associated with the adjectival aleatory and aleatoric, is a term popularised by the musical composer Pierre Boulez, but also Witold Lutosławski and Franco Evangelisti, for compositions resulting from "action ...
and serial procedures. Paus's
harmonic
A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...
writing is typically complex, combining non-traditional structures such as clusters and symmetrical harmonic shapes with
triadic harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
. Several of Paus's works have been influenced by
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
and non-Western
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
, among them Lasuliansko Horo (2004) for violin and piano (Bulgarian folk music), the flute concertino A Portrait of Zhou (2012) (Chinese music), and Fanitull (Devil's Tune) from Two Lyrical Pieces (2007) for string orchestra (Norwegian folk music). As a teenager, Marcus Paus was active as a
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
guitarist, and this experience is at times reflected in some of Paus’s most energetic music, like the Scherzo II from his Cello Sonata (2009) and the 3rd movement, Mosh, from his Three Movements for Solo Cello (2012). Paus is also influenced by
film music
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...
, and has cited
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...
as an important influence in the way he embodies
dissonance and
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
techniques within a larger tonal framework.
He is also inspired by
Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
and
Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...
.
As a young composer in 2007, he described himself as a "cultural conservative non-modernist" in his musical style. In a 2013 interview, his views were more nuanced and he said that he is not opposed to modernism and that modernism has included important innovations and contributions, but that he supports diversity in musical styles and influences, and a "greater acceptance of a tradition-inspired musical style." Over time Paus has embraced modernist influences to a greater degree, while retaining a tonality and interest in tradition;
NRK
NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...
's music critic Trond Erikson wrote in 2015 that "if anyone could be called a lyrical modernist, it would be Marcus Paus" and that "Marcus Paus has shown that creating something new, exciting and beautiful is not reserved for the old masters." In a 2017 interview Paus said he felt ostracized by older atonal modernist composers in the late 1990s, but that "thankfully, the climate is quite different now, and more generous and open-minded."
In 2020, Paus described himself as an "anarcho-traditionalist" who felt compelled to rebel against prejudice against traditional musical values in the 1990s and early 2000s.
In 2022 he also described himself as a humanist composer, and said that although his work is often inspired by tradition, he doesn’t feel bound by it. He also said that he has never been an anti-modernist. Guy Rickards has referred to Paus in ''
Gramophone
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
'' as "a successful
postmodern composer."
Paus has referred to himself as a "
melodist," stating that "melody is to music what a scent is to the senses: it jogs our memory. It gives face to form, and identity and character to the process and proceedings. It is not only a musical subject, but a manifestation of the musically subjective. It carries and radiates personality with as much clarity and poignancy as harmony and rhythm combined. As such a powerful tool of communication, melody serves not only as protagonist in its own drama, but as messenger from the author to the audience." He considers himself to be a "musical dramatist" who uses his music to "empathise with something pre-existing" to convey "something that is human."
Paus has said that "words are my passion. If I weren't a composer, I would probably have endeavoured to become a poet or writer. Perhaps my father, with his love for the relation of words and music, had something to do with that (...) I set what I love, and what I cannot resist. Setting poetry is an urge (...) I think of music as subtext and symbolism."
Paus is a member of the
Riksmål Society
Riksmålsforbundet (; official translation: "The Riksmaal Society - The Society for the Preservation of Traditional Standard Norwegian") is the main organisation for Riksmål, an unofficial variety of the Norwegian language, based on the official ...
and in a 2002 interview he linked his views on music to his views on language.
Frances Borowsky notes that Paus "has garnered a reputation as a prolific, versatile, and highly communicative contemporary composer" whose "works revolve around a strong appreciation for the functional use of traditional harmonies and form, combined with his uniquely idiosyncratic contemporary expressive language."
Danny Riley notes that Paus is one of the "key musical figures in Norway’s modern compositional landscape" and argues that Paus's compositions might be seen as a reaction against older Norwegian contemporary composers, but that he is not a complete conservative.
The musicologist Edward Green writes that Paus's music "is grounded in tradition, is steeped in the value of careful craftsmanship, and yet, at the same time, is passionate, surprising, original, deeply lyrical, and fervently humanist in its social and political orientation." Green describes Paus as "the leading Norwegian composer of his generation."
The music journal ''Ballade'' has referred to Paus as omnipresent in Norwegian contemporary classical music.
Work and collaborations
Known for his
virtuosic
A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...
and
idiomatic
Idiom, also called idiomaticness or idiomaticity, is the syntactical, grammatical, or structural form peculiar to a language. Idiom is the realized structure of a language, as opposed to possible but unrealized structures that could have develop ...
writing, Paus has collaborated with some of Norway's finest soloists, including violinists
Henning Kraggerud
Henning Kraggerud (born 23 June 1973) is a Norwegian musician and composer.
Career
Kraggerud was born in Oslo. He studied with Camilla Wicks, Emanuel Hurwitz, and Stephan Barratt-Due, before embarking on a career that has brought solo appeara ...
and
Arve Tellefsen
Arve Tellefsen () (born 14 December 1936) is a Norwegian violinist who has worked with conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Arvid Jansons, Herbert Blomstedt, Gary Bertini, Evgeny Svetlanov, Bryden Thomson, Neeme Järvi, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Paavo B ...
, saxophonist
Rolf-Erik Nystrøm
Rolf-Erik Nystrøm (born 23 April 1975) is a Norwegian saxophonist and composer in the field of contemporary music.
Career
Nystrøm has a diploma of music from the Norwegian Academy of Music and is now a lecturer in the art of improvisation b ...
and singer
Tora Augestad
Tora Karen Elisabeth Augestad (born 10 December 1979) is a Norwegian mezzosoprano, musical conductor and actor. One of Norway's most established classical singers, she focuses on jazz, musical theater, contemporary music, and cabaret. Her stag ...
.
Marcus Paus is also known for his collaborations with other artists, most prominently Swedish painter
Christopher Rådlund, as well as singer/songwriter and poet
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
(the librettist of several of Paus’s operas). Other collaborators have included film director
Sara Johnsen
Sara Johnsen (born 4 March 1970) is a Norwegian film director and author.
Career
Johnsen's first feature film ''Kissed by Winter'' was nominated for the 2005 Nordic Council Film Prize.
Johnsen was an additional writer on the first series of the ...
, dancer, choreographer and
FRIKAR founder
Hallgrim Hansegård, and actress
Minken Fosheim
Birte Fosheim Wienskol (20 March 1956 – 7 June 2018), better known as Minken Fosheim, was a Norwegian actress and author, best known for her children's books about famous composers, and her role as Vigdis Reverud in the 1990s sitcom '' Karl & Co ...
.
Paus has set to music a number of poets and writers, among them
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles.
From a conflicted and unhap ...
,
W.B. Yeats,
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
,
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...
,
Richard Wilbur
Richard Purdy Wilbur (March 1, 1921 – October 14, 2017) was an American poet and literary translator. One of the foremost poets of his generation, Wilbur's work, composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentle ...
,
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
,
Christina Rossetti
Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Brit ...
,
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.
Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...
and
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...
, and Norwegians
André Bjerke
Jarl André Bjerke (30 January 1918 – 10 January 1985) was a Norwegian writer and poet. He wrote a wide range of material: poems (both for children and adults), mystery novels (four of them under the pseudonym Bernhard Borge), essays, and arti ...
,
Jens Bjørneboe
Jens Ingvald Bjørneboe (9 October 1920 – 9 May 1976) was a Norwegian writer whose work spanned a number of literary formats. He was also a painter and a Waldorf school teacher. Bjørneboe was a harsh and eloquent critic of Norwegian society an ...
,
Arne Garborg
Arne Garborg (born Aadne Eivindsson Garborg) (25 January 1851 – 14 January 1924) was a Norwegian writer.
Garborg championed the use of Landsmål (now known as Nynorsk, or New Norwegian), as a literary language; he translated the Odyssey into ...
,
Knut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, perspective a ...
,
Johan Falkberget
Johan Falkberget, born Johan Petter Lillebakken, (30 September 1879 – 5 April 1967) was a Norwegian author. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Life and career
Johan Falkberget was born on the Lillebakken farm in the Rugl ...
,
Harald Sverdrup and Ole Paus.
All of Paus’s four
string quartets
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
to date are themed after painters (nos. 1 and 4 on paintings by
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images.
His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...
, no. 2 on a painting by
Halfdan Egedius
Halfdan Egedius (May 5, 1877 – February 2, 1899) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator.
Biography
Halfdan Johnsen Egedius was born in Drammen in Buskerud county and grew up in Christiania (now Oslo). His interest in painting and illustratio ...
, and no. 3 on paintings by Christopher Rådlund).
Paus's choral work ''The Stolen Child'' (2009), based on poetry by
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
, was one of his early works to receive international critical acclaim. Written for Ensemble 96, it was included on their album ''Kind'' (2010) which presented Nordic choral music, and which was nominated for the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for Best Choral Performance. Stephen Eddins wrote that Paus's work is "sumptuously lyrical and magically wild, and
..beautifully captures the alluring mystery and danger and melancholy" of Yeats. Kirk McElhearn wrote that "it presents a sound-world that is astounding and moving."
Paus's ''
The Beauty That Still Remains'', based on original text by Anne Frank, was commissioned by the
Government of Norway
The politics of Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the Council of State, the cabinet, led by the prime minister of Norway. Legislative power i ...
for the official Norwegian commemoration of the end of the Second World War in 2015; released as a studio album by 2L in 2020, it received critical acclaim.
[ ] Guy Rickards noted in ''
Gramophone
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
'' that the work "takes its title from one of the most famous, defiant, and affecting quotes from ''The Diary of Anne Frank'': 'I do not think about all the misery, but about all the beauty that still remains.' The sentiment of that quote, its focus on the positive in a time of dire peril, is the pillar around which Marcus Paus' extraordinarily beautiful cantata is constructed, encapsulated in the last of its eleven movements, Epilogue, setting those very words in an outpouring of melody that is captivating and heartbreaking in equal measure. (...) This is quite the finest work by Marcus Paus that I have heard."
Paus's
Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra, written for the 250th anniversary of
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is a Norwegian orchestra based in Bergen. Its principal concert venue is the Grieg Hall.
History
Established in 1765 under the name ''Det Musicalske Selskab'' (The Musical Society), it later changed its name t ...
, triggered the biggest public debate about art music in Norway since the 1970s with a large number of articles by Norwegian composers in the music journal ''Ballade'' on its aesthetics and the future of contemporary music. Danny Riley argued that "it’s tempting to view its instrumental pyrotechnics as a remnant from Paus's days shredding guitar in prog rock groups as a teenager."
In 2017, the album ''Marcus Paus – Odes & Elegies'' was released by Sheva Contemporary, featuring his works ''A Portrait of Zhou'', ''Marble Songs'', ''Shostakovich in Memoriam'', ''Vita'' and ''Love's Last Rites'', performed by Tom Ottar Andreassen, the
Norwegian Radio Orchestra
The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Norwegian, ''Kringkastingsorkestret'', abbreviated as KORK) is a radio orchestra affiliated with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (''Norsk rikskringkasting AS'', or NRK). Its principal base is the ''Store Studi ...
,
Henning Kraggerud
Henning Kraggerud (born 23 June 1973) is a Norwegian musician and composer.
Career
Kraggerud was born in Oslo. He studied with Camilla Wicks, Emanuel Hurwitz, and Stephan Barratt-Due, before embarking on a career that has brought solo appeara ...
,
Oslo Camerata directed by
Stephan Barratt-Due
Stephan Henrik Barratt-Due Jr. (born 1 June 1956 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian violinist, the son of violinist Stephan Henrik Barrat-Due (1919–1985) and Else Barratt-Due (b. Holst, June 1925).
Biography
Barrat-Due started his violin studi ...
and others. The album received critical acclaim.
Musicologist
Ralph P. Locke
Ralph P. Locke (born 1949) is an American musicologist, classical music critic and professor emeritus of musicology at Eastman School of Music. He founded the ''Eastman Studies in Music'' series. He is a contributor to the ''New Grove Dictionary o ...
wrote that Paus's ''
Hate Songs
''Hate Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra'', or simply ''Hate Songs'', is an operatic song cycle for mezzo-soprano and orchestra by Norwegian composer Marcus Paus based on poetry by American poet Dorothy Parker. Paus' ''Hate Songs'' was publi ...
'', based on poetry by Dorothy Parker, "proved to be one of the most engaging works" in recent years; "the cycle expresses Parker's favorite theme: how awful human beings are, especially the male of the species." In 2018, Tora Augestad and the
Oslo Philharmonic
The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 18 ...
released the album ''Portraying Passion: Works by Weill/Paus/Ives'', with works by
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...
and
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed f ...
in addition to Paus's ''Hate Songs'', and the album won the 2018
Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizati ...
(Norwegian Grammy Award) for best classical album. Locke highlighted Augestad's recording of ''Hate Songs'' as one of the "best opera and vocal music" works in that year. Albrecht Thiemann, editor of ''
Opernwelt
''Opernwelt'' (''Opera World'') is a monthly German magazine for opera, operetta and ballet. It includes news about current performances, portraits of composers and performers, articles about opera houses, performance spaces, and contemporary and ...
'', called the work "a captivatingly orchestrated, spirit-sparkling opus" and "a coup that provides an immense listening pleasure."
His work for children include the children's operas ''
The Witches'', based on
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
, and ''
The Ash-Lad – Pål's Story'', both written in collaboration with his father Ole Paus. His children's opera ''
Children of Ginko'' premiered in Shanghai in 2020 as part of the Ibsen International project supported by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.
His work also includes
church music
Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn.
History
Early Christian music
The onl ...
, including the widely performed ''
O Magnum Mysterium
O magnum mysterium is a responsorial chant from the Matins of Christmas.
Text
The text is drawn from the Matins of Christmas in the Roman Breviary.
; Latin text:
: O magnum mysterium,
: et admirabile sacramentum,
: ut animalia viderent Do ...
'' (2007), ''
Missa Concertante
''Missa Concertante'' is a mass composed by Marcus Paus in 2008. It was first performed by Oslo Chamber Choir, principal cathedral organist Kåre Nordstoga, saxophonist Rolf Erik Nystrøm, percussionist Katrine Nyheim and Oslo String Quartet at ...
'' (2008) and
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
(2014), the latter written with his father Ole Paus. The German music critic Jan Brachmann wrote in the ''
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...
'' that Paus's ''O Magnum Mysterium'' translates "the harmonious language from soundtracks for mystery thrillers into pious devotion, almost based on the maxim: 'You, Christmas are like a
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
film, but with a happy ending and no deaths.'"
In 2018 Julie Kleive and
Joachim Kwetzinsky Joachim Victor Birkeland Kjelsaas von Kwetzinsky-Stetzenkow (born 8 April 1978), known as Joachim Kwetzinsky, is a Norwegian pianist.
Background
He is a son of the author Oddbjørn Birkeland and the pianist Berit Kjelsaas Kwetzinsky, and a steps ...
released the album ''En hellig, alminnelig lek'' (A Sacred, Ordinary Game) with songs by Paus based on poetry by
André Bjerke
Jarl André Bjerke (30 January 1918 – 10 January 1985) was a Norwegian writer and poet. He wrote a wide range of material: poems (both for children and adults), mystery novels (four of them under the pseudonym Bernhard Borge), essays, and arti ...
. In 2020 Kleive and Kwetzinsky released the album ''Dypt i forledelsen'' (Deep in Seduction) with songs by Paus based on poetry by
Jens Bjørneboe
Jens Ingvald Bjørneboe (9 October 1920 – 9 May 1976) was a Norwegian writer whose work spanned a number of literary formats. He was also a painter and a Waldorf school teacher. Bjørneboe was a harsh and eloquent critic of Norwegian society an ...
. Music critic Maren Ørstavik described the latter as "a solid, modern song cycle" written with "a sense of singable melodies, classical forms and traditional instrumentation" and noted that "it is interesting to compare the two works, which demonstrate that Paus is an original composer despite the conventional forms and instrumentation."
In 2020, Paus released the song cycle ''
Good Vibes in Bad Times'', written for mezzosoprano Tora Augestad based on texts by
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
reconceptualized as poems. Paus said that "more than being merely a satirical take on Trump (which, of course, it obviously is), these texts offer a humanizing perspective, allowing us to take pity where reality otherwise leaves little room for it."
In a review of Paus's film score for ''
Mortal
Mortal means susceptible to death; the opposite of immortality, immortal.
Mortal may also refer to:
* Mortal (band), a Christian industrial band
* The Mortal, Sakurai Atsushi's project band
* Mortal (novel), ''Mortal'' (novel), a science fiction ...
'' (2020), Jonathan Broxton wrote that the work is "likely to be remembered as the breakthrough of a superb ‘new’ talent because if this is any indication of his work, he’s going to be massive very soon." Paus was nominated for the 2020 Movie Music UK Awards; Broxton wrote that Paus, "who is already considered a wunderkind in classical circles – blew me away with the score for the super-hero fantasy/horror ''Mortal''." Paus was also nominated for an
Amanda Award and as the Norwegian nominee for the 2021 Nordic Film Music Days – HARPA Award for the work; the HARPA jury described it as "an impressively mature orchestral work that feels both introvert and extrovert at the same time, painting its fantastical canvas in broad, impressionistic strokes." Daniel Schweiger described ''Mortal'' as "truly thunderstruck in announcing Paus’ symphonically avenging talent to a bigger playing field."
In 2020, Paus' work ''Ingenting forsvinner'' (Nothing Disappears), with lyrics by Ole Paus, was first performed by NyNorsk Brass Quintet and Tora Augestad; Paus described the work as "equal parts epitaph, confession, prayer and threat." In 2021, the guitar concerto ''Decameron'' and the violin concerto ''Voyage'' were first performed by the
Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra
The Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic ( no, Arktisk Filharmoni, links=no) is an orchestral institution based in Tromsø and Bodø, Norway. Since its founding in 2009, as The Northern Norwegian Opera and Symphony Orchestra, it has become one of Norther ...
with soloists Petter Richter and Miriam Helms Ålien. In 2021, the tuba concerto ''
Tuba Mirum'' was first performed by tubist
August Schieldrop
August Schieldrop is a Norwegian classical tubist who performs as a soloist with the Oslo Philharmonic and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. He has received several of Norway's main music prizes.
Career
Schieldrop was born in Oslo. He attended Osl ...
and the
Oslo Philharmonic
The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 18 ...
.
The double album ''Cabin Fever: Pandemic Works'' (Sheva Contemporary, 2022) contains new works written during the corona pandemic, performed by the Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra and various musicians. The album ''Requiem/Trisyn/Læreren som ikke ble'' (2022) notably contains ''Requiem'' by Marcus and Ole Paus and ''
The Teacher Who Was Not To Be'' by Paus and
Olav Anton Thommessen
Olav Anton Thommessen (born 16 May 1946) is a Norwegian contemporary composer who has been one of the foremost modernist composers in Norway since the 1970s. His main compositions include ''Et glassperlespill'' and ''Gjennom Prisme''. He was a pro ...
.
In 2022 the
Norwegian Armed Forces
The Norwegian Armed Forces ( no, Forsvaret, , The Defence) is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal ...
commissioned Paus to write a major work to tell the stories of the recipients of Norway's highest honour, the
War Cross. The Armed Forces said the idea is that the work will be a major "identity-building and unifying" work for the armed forces. It was the largest commission in the history of Norwegian military music. During the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
that year, Paus composed the song "
Slava Ukraini!," that he described as a song of resistance. Paus said that "the work seems to strike a chord with many people, including those who are in the middle of the battle zone. There is no nobler task for music than to unite and comfort people."
Paus has expressed interest in writing an opera based on Ibsen's ''
Peer Gynt
''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...
''.
Other activities
From 2021 Paus co-hosts the podcast ''Paus og Castle blir kloke på musikklivet'' (Paus and Castle Figure Out Music Life) with his brother-in-law, punk and rap musician and music producer Kim Morten Mohn (also known by the stage name Kim Castle). Paus performed an
electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
solo on the 2021 single "Mamman og Pappans Anthem (feat. Marcus Paus)" released by electronic duo detdusa; it was Paus' first appearance as a performer since the 1990s.
Selected works
;Orchestral works
*War Cross (Krigskorset) (2022), written for the
Norwegian Armed Forces
The Norwegian Armed Forces ( no, Forsvaret, , The Defence) is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal ...
*
Tuba Mirum (2021), written for the
Oslo Philharmonic
The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 18 ...
and tubist
August Schieldrop
August Schieldrop is a Norwegian classical tubist who performs as a soloist with the Oslo Philharmonic and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. He has received several of Norway's main music prizes.
Career
Schieldrop was born in Oslo. He attended Osl ...
*Decameron: Concerto Rifugio (2020)
*Love's Last Rites (2017)
*
Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra (2015), written for the
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is a Norwegian orchestra based in Bergen. Its principal concert venue is the Grieg Hall.
History
Established in 1765 under the name ''Det Musicalske Selskab'' (The Musical Society), it later changed its name t ...
*
Hate Songs for Mezzosoprano & Orchestra (2013–14), text:
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles.
From a conflicted and unhap ...
*Music for Orchestra (2012)
*A Portrait of Zhou (Concertino for Flute & Orchestra) (2012)
*Triple Concerto for Violin, Viola & Orchestra (2011)
*Two Lyrical Pieces (2007)
*Ave Mozart! (2006)
;Choral works
*Litanies (2021), text by
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...
*
No Search, No Rescue (2017), text by Palestinian poet Jehan Bseiso
*The Day of Wrath Shall Come (2017), text by
Thomas of Celano
Thomas of Celano ( it, Tommaso da Celano, italic=no; c. 1185 – c. 1265) was an Italian friar of the Franciscans (Order of Friars Minor) as well as a poet and the author of three hagiographies about Francis of Assisi.
Life
Thomas was born some ...
*Free is the Land (2016), text by
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
*
The Beauty That Still Remains (2015), libretto by the composer based on ''
The Diary of a Young Girl
''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Neth ...
'' by
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...
*Dies Irae (2014), text by Heidi Køhn
*And Now Abide (2012)
*The Stolen Child (2009), text:
W.B. Yeats
*
Missa Concertante
''Missa Concertante'' is a mass composed by Marcus Paus in 2008. It was first performed by Oslo Chamber Choir, principal cathedral organist Kåre Nordstoga, saxophonist Rolf Erik Nystrøm, percussionist Katrine Nyheim and Oslo String Quartet at ...
(2008)
*
O magnum mysterium
O magnum mysterium is a responsorial chant from the Matins of Christmas.
Text
The text is drawn from the Matins of Christmas in the Roman Breviary.
; Latin text:
: O magnum mysterium,
: et admirabile sacramentum,
: ut animalia viderent Do ...
(2007)
*The Dome & the River (2006)
;Operas and stage works
*
Children of Ginko / Frøbarna (2017–18), chamber opera in one act, libretto by Oda Fiskum
*
Hate Songs for Mezzosoprano & Orchestra (2013–14), text:
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles.
From a conflicted and unhap ...
*Spelet om Christian Frederik (2014)
*Eli Sjursdotter (2013–14), libretto by
Ola Jonsmoen
Ola Jonsmoen (born 9 July 1932) is a Norwegian educator, poet, novelist and children's writer.
Jonsmoen was born in Alvdal. He made his literary debut in 1959 with the poetry collection ''Dagen, vinden og hjartet''. Other collections are ''Omvega ...
*
The Teacher Who Was Not To Be (Læreren som ikke ble) (2013), libretto by the teacher who was not to be (
Olav Anton Thommessen
Olav Anton Thommessen (born 16 May 1946) is a Norwegian contemporary composer who has been one of the foremost modernist composers in Norway since the 1970s. His main compositions include ''Et glassperlespill'' and ''Gjennom Prisme''. He was a pro ...
)
*
The Ash-Lad – Pål's Story (Askeladden – Påls versjon) (2010–11),
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
, based on the fairy tale character
Askeladden
Ashlad (Norwegian "Askeladden", full name "Esben Askelad" or "Espen Askeladd") is a main character in a number of tales collected in Asbjørnsen and Moe's ''Norwegian Folktales''.
The character starts out being regarded as an incapable underachi ...
*
The Wild Choir
''The Wild Choir'' ( no, Det vilde Kor) is a poetry collection by Nobel laureate in literature Knut Hamsun. It was published in 1904 and is his only poetry collection. The collection contains existentialist, erotic and political poems. One of the b ...
(2009), text by
Knut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, perspective a ...
*
The Witches (Heksene) (2007–08), libretto by
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
, based on the
novel of the same name by
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
;Chamber works
*Two Eldritch Songs for Voice (Tenor) & Piano (2021)
*Fragments from Sappho (2020)
*Sonata for Violin & Piano (2020)
*Songs from Shiraz (2020)
*The Song and the Catastrophe (2018), text by Ulrik Farestad
*Confessions (2018), text by
André Bjerke
Jarl André Bjerke (30 January 1918 – 10 January 1985) was a Norwegian writer and poet. He wrote a wide range of material: poems (both for children and adults), mystery novels (four of them under the pseudonym Bernhard Borge), essays, and arti ...
*Never (2017), text by
André Bjerke
Jarl André Bjerke (30 January 1918 – 10 January 1985) was a Norwegian writer and poet. He wrote a wide range of material: poems (both for children and adults), mystery novels (four of them under the pseudonym Bernhard Borge), essays, and arti ...
*Everyday Miracle (2017), text by
André Bjerke
Jarl André Bjerke (30 January 1918 – 10 January 1985) was a Norwegian writer and poet. He wrote a wide range of material: poems (both for children and adults), mystery novels (four of them under the pseudonym Bernhard Borge), essays, and arti ...
*Room Mates (2017), text by Ulrik Farestad
*Late Summer Songs (2017), text by
Jan Erik Vold
Jan Erik Vold (born 18 October 1939) is a Norwegian lyric poet, jazz vocal reciter, translator and author. He was a core member of the so-called "''Profil'' generation", the circle attached to the literary magazine ''Profil''. Throughout his care ...
*The Yearning of Things (2017), text by
André Bjerke
Jarl André Bjerke (30 January 1918 – 10 January 1985) was a Norwegian writer and poet. He wrote a wide range of material: poems (both for children and adults), mystery novels (four of them under the pseudonym Bernhard Borge), essays, and arti ...
*Love Songs (2016), text by
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles.
From a conflicted and unhap ...
*Music to Hear (Sonnet VIII) (2016), text by
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
*Sonata for Double Bass and Piano (2016)
*The Harvesting (2016), text by
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images.
His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...
*Afterplay: Eternity's Gaze (2015), text by
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
*Fanfare for Two Violins (2015)
*
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
(2014), text by
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
*Screwing Britten (2013)
*String Quartet no. 4 ‘Ashes’ (2013)
*Sonata for Cello & Piano (2009)
*String Quartet no.3 (2006)
*Trio for Clarinet, Violin & Piano (2006)
*Lasuliansko Horo for Violin & Piano (2004)
;Solo works
*
Slava Ukraini! (2022; composed during the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
)
*
Good Vibes in Bad Times (2020)
*Decameron: Concerto Rifugio (2020)
*Intimations (2020)
*Cabin Fever (2020)
*The Waters of Vinje (Souvenir d'un Voyage) (2019)
*Intrada for Solo Oboe (2018)
*Kleiberg Variations for Solo Piano (2018)
*Mathias' Song for Solo Piano (2018)
*Sarabande for Solo Clavichord (2018)
*Stetind (2018)
*Alone for Solo Cello (2017)
*September Lines for Solo Clarinet (2017)
*Sonata for Solo Clarinet (2017)
*Christiania, 1899 for Solo Piano (2016)
*Elegy for Solo Alto Recorder (or Oboe) (2016)
*Hauntings for Solo Flute (2016)
*Marble Songs (2016)
*Prowling (2016)
*Sonata for Solo Bassoon (2016)
*Three Lines (2016)
*Two Idylls (2016)
*Two Pieces for Solo Harpsichord (2016)
*A Prologue to the Past (2015)
*Inventory (2015), text by
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles.
From a conflicted and unhap ...
*Summer Sketches (2015)
*Theory (2015), text by
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles.
From a conflicted and unhap ...
*A Farther Front (2014)
*Sur le nom de Bach (2014)
*Vita (2014)
*Three Shades of Evil (2013)
*Trauermusik for Solo Cello (2012)
*4 Memento Mori for Solo Piano (2012)
*The Ladies on the Bridge for Solo Violin (2010)
;Film scores
*Rex Barbaricum (documentary series)
*
Mortal
Mortal means susceptible to death; the opposite of immortality, immortal.
Mortal may also refer to:
* Mortal (band), a Christian industrial band
* The Mortal, Sakurai Atsushi's project band
* Mortal (novel), ''Mortal'' (novel), a science fiction ...
(2020), directed by
André Øvredal
André Øvredal (; born 1973) is a Norwegian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films '' Trollhunter'', '' The Autopsy of Jane Doe'' and '' Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark''.
Life and career
He is best known fo ...
*UMEÅ4ever (2011), directed by Geir Greni
*Upperdog (2009), directed by Sara Johnsen
Selected discography
*Ensemble 96s: ''Kind'' (2L, 2010) (The Stolen Child)
*''UMEÅ4ever'' (MTG Music, 2011)
*
Henning Kraggerud
Henning Kraggerud (born 23 June 1973) is a Norwegian musician and composer.
Career
Kraggerud was born in Oslo. He studied with Camilla Wicks, Emanuel Hurwitz, and Stephan Barratt-Due, before embarking on a career that has brought solo appeara ...
: ''Munch Suite'' (Simax 2013)
*Johannes Martens and
Joachim Kwetzinsky Joachim Victor Birkeland Kjelsaas von Kwetzinsky-Stetzenkow (born 8 April 1978), known as Joachim Kwetzinsky, is a Norwegian pianist.
Background
He is a son of the author Oddbjørn Birkeland and the pianist Berit Kjelsaas Kwetzinsky, and a steps ...
: ''Marcus Paus'' (Aurora 2013)
*
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is a Norwegian orchestra based in Bergen. Its principal concert venue is the Grieg Hall.
History
Established in 1765 under the name ''Det Musicalske Selskab'' (The Musical Society), it later changed its name t ...
: ''OPUS 250'' (LAWO Classics, 2015) (
Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra)
*Tom Ottar Andreassen, the
Norwegian Radio Orchestra
The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Norwegian, ''Kringkastingsorkestret'', abbreviated as KORK) is a radio orchestra affiliated with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (''Norsk rikskringkasting AS'', or NRK). Its principal base is the ''Store Studi ...
,
Henning Kraggerud
Henning Kraggerud (born 23 June 1973) is a Norwegian musician and composer.
Career
Kraggerud was born in Oslo. He studied with Camilla Wicks, Emanuel Hurwitz, and Stephan Barratt-Due, before embarking on a career that has brought solo appeara ...
,
Oslo Camerata directed by
Stephan Barratt-Due
Stephan Henrik Barratt-Due Jr. (born 1 June 1956 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian violinist, the son of violinist Stephan Henrik Barrat-Due (1919–1985) and Else Barratt-Due (b. Holst, June 1925).
Biography
Barrat-Due started his violin studi ...
and others: ''Marcus Paus – Odes & Elegies'' (Sheva Contemporary, 2017)
*
Tora Augestad
Tora Karen Elisabeth Augestad (born 10 December 1979) is a Norwegian mezzosoprano, musical conductor and actor. One of Norway's most established classical singers, she focuses on jazz, musical theater, contemporary music, and cabaret. Her stag ...
and the
Oslo Philharmonic
The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 18 ...
: ''Portraying Passion: Works by Weill/Paus/Ives'' (LAWO Classics, 2018)
*Julie Kleive and Joachim Kwetzinsky: ''En hellig, alminnelig lek''
Sacred, Ordinary Game(Grappa Musikkforlag, 2018)
*Norwegian Girls' Choir: ''
The Beauty That Still Remains'' (2L, 2020)
*Julie Kleive and Joachim Kwetzinsky: ''Dypt i forledelsen''
eep in Seduction(MTG Music, 2020)
*''Mortal'' (MTG Music, 2020)
*Zurich Chamber Singers: ''O Nata Lux'' (Berlin Classics, 2020) (O Magnum Mysterium)
*''
Good Vibes in Bad Times'' (MTG Music, 2020)
*''Sonata for Violin and Piano'' (Sheva Contemporary, 2021)
*''Cabin Fever: Pandemic Works'' (Sheva Contemporary, 2022)
*''Requiem/Trisyn/Læreren som ikke ble'' (2022), with ''
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
'' by Marcus Paus/
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
, and ''
The Teacher Who Was Not To Be'' by Marcus Paus/
Olav Anton Thommessen
Olav Anton Thommessen (born 16 May 1946) is a Norwegian contemporary composer who has been one of the foremost modernist composers in Norway since the 1970s. His main compositions include ''Et glassperlespill'' and ''Gjennom Prisme''. He was a pro ...
Awards
*
Wessel Prize, 2012
* Composer of the Year Prize (won) of the Norwegian Music Publishers, 2017
Dette er vinnerne av Musikkforleggerprisen
Music Norway
* Amanda Award for Best Music (nominated), 2020
*Breakthrough Composer of the Year, Movie Music UK Awards (nominated), 2020
*Nordic Film Music Days – HARPA Award (Norwegian nominee), 2021
*Government Grant for Artists, 2021
*Composer of the Year Prize (nominated) of the Norwegian Music Publishers, 2022
*Work of the Year Prize (nominated) of the Norwegian Music Publishers, 2022
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paus, Marcus
1979 births
Living people
Norwegian contemporary classical composers
Norwegian opera composers
Norwegian film score composers
21st-century classical composers
Norwegian Academy of Music alumni
Manhattan School of Music alumni
People educated at Oslo Waldorf School
Norwegian male classical composers
Male opera composers
Male film score composers
Modernist composers
Postmodern composers
Composers for piano
Composers for violin
Composers for cello
Choral composers
Norwegian people of Austrian-Jewish descent
Norwegian people of Danish descent