Ole Mørk Sandvik (9 May 1875 – 5 August 1976) was a Norwegian educator, musicologist and folk-song collector.

Background

Sandvik was born on the island of Helgøya in

Hedmark Hedmark () was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged i ...

, Norway. He was a son of school inspector

Paul Knutsen Barstad Sandvik Paul Knutsen Barstad Sandvik (9 April 1847 – 24 December 1936) was a Norwegian educator and musician. Biography He was born at Ørsta in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. He was a son of Knut Barstad and his wife Ragnhild, née Brekke. His father died in ...

(1847–1936) and his wife Nikoline Petrine Mørk (1847–1927). His parents hailed from Ørsta and Volda. Three years later, his family moved to

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

where he grew up. He graduated examen artium in 1893. He then began studying at the University of Kristiania. In 1897 he undertook theology studies. He graduated

cand.theol. Candidatus theologiæ (male), Candidata theologiæ (female), abbreviated cand. theol. is an academic degree with a long tradition, awarded after a six-year higher education in theology in Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. In Norway, the title has re ...

in 1902. He also graduated from the seminary at Hamar (''Hamar lærerskole'') in 1895.

Career

Sandvik spent most of his career at the two schools; Vestheim (''Vestheim høyere skole'') from 1898 to 1913 and Hegdehaugen (''Hegdehaugen skole'') from 1913 to 1945. He also worked part-time as a singing teacher at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

and the

MF Norwegian School of Theology MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society ( no, MF vitenskapelig høyskole for teologi, religion og samfunn), formerly the Free Faculty of Theology ( no, Det teologiske menighetsfakultet) and MF Norwegian School of Theology, is an accr ...

, from 1916. He remained at the university until 1947 and at MF until 1952. He took his doctorate in 1921 with the thesis ''Norsk folkemusik, særlig Østlandsmusikken''. This was the first thesis on

Norwegian folk music Much has been learned about early music in Norway from physical artifacts found during archaeological digs. These include instruments such as the lur. Viking and medieval sagas also describe musical activity, as do the accounts of priests and pil ...

. The thesis was built on several travels in Norway, especially the Gudbrandsdal region, where he collected this music. A polemic took place between Sandvik and colleague

Catharinus Elling Catharinus Elling (13 September 1858 – 8 January 1942) was a Norwegian music teacher, organist, music critic, and composer. He was also a folk music collector and the author of a number of books. Biography Elling was born in Christiania ( ...

. Elling held that folk music pieces had to be polished by professionals, whereas Sandvik argued that the music should be played in the tradition of the country folk. Sandvik became vice president of the

International Folk Music Council The International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) is a scholarly non-governmental organization which focuses on the study, practice, documentation, preservation, and dissemination of traditional music and dance of all countries. Founded in Lo ...

at its inception in 1947. President at the time was

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

. In Norway Sandvik founded the Norwegian Folk Music Research Association in 1948, and chaired the organization from 1948 to 1965. Sandvik also wrote books on church music and choral music. He was a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...

from 1939.

Personal life

In July 1906, he married pianist Nanna Rønneberg Munthe-Kaas (1880–1965). He was decorated as a Knight, 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 ...

in 1949. In 1966 he was awarded honorary membership in the

Norwegian National Association for Traditional Music and Dance Norwegian National Association for Traditional Music and Dance(''Norsk Folkemusikk- og Danselag'') is a nationwide organization that aims to support the folk music and rural dance tradition in Norway. The organization (NFD) was founded in 1987 as ...

. He died in Oslo, having reached the age of 101 and was buried at the cemetery of

Ris Church Ris Church (''Ris kirke'') is a church in Oslo, Norway. The Romanesque Revival style church is situated in a neighborhood of Ris in the borough of Vestre Aker in Oslo. The church was built in the spring of 1932 and was consecrated on 12 June ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandvik, Ole Moerk 1875 births 1976 deaths Musicians from Hamar University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Academic staff of the MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society Norwegian educators Norwegian musicologists Norwegian folk-song collectors Norwegian centenarians Men centenarians Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal