Otto Hübertz Mortensen (18 August 1907 – 30 August 1986) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

composer and conductor. He also played the organ and piano. For a number of years he worked at the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

as a rehearser for the opera, and later worked at Aarhus University. As a composer, Mortensen composed both vocal works and instrumental music. He is most famous for arranging countless choral works and for writing the melodies for a number of Danish songs, e.g. ''Septembers himmel'', ''Min skat, Sommervise'' (''Du danske sommer jeg elsker dig…''), and the Norwegian '' Kringsatt av fiender'' (lyrics by

Nordahl Grieg Johan Nordahl Brun Grieg (1 November 1902 – 2 December 1943) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, dramatist, journalist and activism, political activist. He was a popular author and a controversial public figure. He served in World War II as a war c ...

). In the years leading up to his death, he worked on new melodies to a number of psalms, e.g. ''At sige verden ret farvel''. The melody for the poem by

Helge Rode Helge Rode (Frederiksberg, 16 October 1870 – 23 March 1937) was a Danish writer and critic, and journalist for ''Politiken'', ''Berlingske Tidende'', and '' Illustreret Tidende''. He was a son of Margrethe Rode, the brother of politician Ove R ...

, ''Du gav os de blomster, som lyste imod os'', was selected by the

Danish Ministry of Culture The Minister for Culture of Denmark ( da, Kulturminister) is the Danish political minister office responsible for culture, head of the Ministry of Culture of Denmark. The political responsibility for culture, as well as church and education, was ...

in 2006 as one of 12 songs to be a part of the Canon of Culture (Danish: ''Kulturministeriets Kulturkanon'') in the category musical scores.

List of compositions

The following works do not make a complete listing. * Quintette pour Flûte, Hautbois, Clarinette, Cor et Basson (1944)Program, performance of North Coast Winds at Chamber Music Yellow Springs on 26 April 2015 (pp 19, 23) * Quartet 1937 (1937) * Sonata for oboe and piano * 10 Danish Songs (1928–1943) * Four Songs (1945) * Three Songs (1946) * Selected Songs (1939–1949) * Sange af Nordiske Digtere (10 songs, undated), for voice & pianohttp://www.classicalarchives.com/composer/37134.html * Songs (7 songs, undated), for voice & piano * Septembers himmel er så blå, for voice & piano * Min Skat. Hun er sød, hun er blød (My Sweetheart. She is neat, she is sweet), song for voice & piano * Septembers himmel er så blå (The Skies of September Are So Blue), for voice and piano * Sommervise. Du danske sommer, jeg elsker dig (A Song to Summer. I love you, Danish summer mine), for voice and piano * Det var en lørdag aften, song * Du gav os de blomster (Danmark) * Lørdag aften (Saturday Evening), for chorus

References

*''This article was initially translated from Danish Wikipedia'' *http://www.musikbibliotek.dk/sektioner/klassisk_og_opera/artikler/otto_mortensen_100_aar (Danish) biography by the Danish Agency for Libraries and Media Danish composers Male composers 1907 births 1986 deaths Pupils of Darius Milhaud 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians {{Denmark-composer-stub

List of compositions

See also

References