Sigurd Islandsmoen (August 27, 1881 – July 1, 1964) 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 the ...

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 Defi ...

. Sigurd Islandsmoen made significant contributions to the music of the

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 ...

. 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 thro ...

(

Sør-Aurdal 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, an ...

), 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 co ...

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 Olaus Islandsmoen (1873 in Sør-Aurdal – 1949) was a Norwegian educator, museologist and politician. He was headmaster at Vestoppland Folk High School from 1906 to 1939. He was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1916 to 1918. He wa ...

. He studied at the music academy of Oslo, later as well in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, 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, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

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 conducting, conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. Career Born in Berlin, ...

(1873–1950) and conductor

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

(1855–1922). He took an exam at

Elverum is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Elverum. Other settlements in the municipality include Heradsbygd, Sørskog ...

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 is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is town of Gjøvik. Some of the villages in Gjøvik include Biri, Bybrua, and Hunndalen. The ...

. From 1916 to 1961 he was church organist in

Moss, Norway is a coastal town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Moss. The city of Moss was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt) and City in 1720. Th ...

. 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 Peter ...

. 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 {{Audio, De-Missa solemnis.ogg, Missa solemnis is Latin for Solemn Mass, and is a genre of musical settings of the Mass Ordinary, which are festively scored and render the Latin text extensively, opposed to the more modest Missa brevis. In French ...

'' (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 Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

and from 1952 received a Government artist salary.

Bagn Bygdesamling Bagn Bydesamling is a small museum located in the hamlet of Dolven, south of Bagn at Sør-Aurdal in Innlandet county Norway. The museum is situated in the traditional district of Valdres and is run as a subsidiary of Valdres Folkemuseum. History ...

, 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 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 ...

, his students include

Bjørn Fongaard Bjørn Fongaard (2 March 1919 in Oslo – 26 October 1980 in Oslo) was a Norwegian composer, guitarist, and teacher. In addition to being concerned with microtonal and electronic music, he was perhaps the first to use the prepared guitar. "Fo ...

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 classical composers Norwegian classical composers Norwegian classical organists 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 organists 20th-century Norwegian male musicians