Schierbeck, Poul

Preface

Schierbeck, Poul – Natten Op. 41 for orchestra

(b. Copenhagen, 8 June 1888 – d. Copenhagen, 9 Feb. 1949)

The Night (OM116)

Preface
There is hardly a Dane who has never heard music by Poul Schierbeck. Even if his name is largely forgotten today, at least one of his works is still on everyone’s lips: his song “I Danmark er jeg født”, composed in 1926 to a text by Hans Christian Andersen, is regarded as the kingdom’s secret national anthem. The son of a Copenhagen doctor, he grew up in a middle-class household. His mother played the piano and mandolin, while his father played the lute and guitar and also had a good singing voice, which he used to perform in public from time to time. It was therefore not surprising that young Poul had a musical talent. He learnt to play the piano, recorder and mandolin at an early age and soon began making up his own melodies with great interest. At the age of 13, he completed his first composition: a march for his dog Djip. His passion for the theatre and his experiences as a choir singer made it clear to him that he wanted to study music – despite having already passed his philosophy exams. His teacher was Carl Nielsen (1865-1931), the most important musician in Denmark. The apprenticeship was extremely fruitful and Nielsen, who was around 20 years older, warmly supported his pupil, so that a work by Poul Schierbeck was heard in concert for the first time on 26 February 1912.-ls, but above all his lyrical songs, quickly became popular and some of them have since become folk favourites. Nevertheless, Schierbeck did not shy away from the larger forms. He not only demonstrated his superior technique and art of orchestration, but also that he was stylistically at the height of his time. While he began as a National Romantic composer, there is no denying the influence of French modernism, particularly after the First World War, which Schierbeck incorporated into his very own musical language. In 1931, he was hired as a teacher of instrumentation and later of composition, having been recognised early on as Carl Nielsen’s musical heir. Leif Kayser, Niels Viggo Bentzon, Peder Holm and a number of other Danish composers who dominated the modern era were among Schierbeck’s students, who is regarded by experts as the most important teacher of composition at the Royal Danish Music Conservatory. This was also recognised by his contemporaries from the 1940s onwards. In 1942, Schierbeck was accepted into the Dannebrog Order, and in 1947 he was accepted into the Swedish Academy of Music at the same time as Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sergei Prokofiev and Jacques Ibert. His musical skills were also in demand in Danish film: from 1945 to 1947, he wrote the music for three film productions. As late as 1954, Schierbeck’s music was used for the film “Ordet”, based on Kaj Munk’s play of the same name. The composer had already been dead for five years at this point. In 1948, the composer was diagnosed with lung cancer, to which he succumbed a year later. …

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