trends and tendencies in recent swedish musicology

Trends and Tendencies in Recent Swedish MusicologyAuthor(s): Anders LönnSource: Acta Musicologica, Vol. 44, Fasc. 1 (Jan. - Jun., 1972), pp. 11-25Published by: International Musicological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/932230 .

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T. Schousboe: Diinische musikwissenschaftliche Publikationen seit 1958 11

Ausgaben von drei Denkmiilem des diinischen Kirchengesangs publiziert. AnliitBlich des siebzigsten Geburtstages Mogens Wbldikes wurde Thomas Kingo: Gradual von 1699 neu herausgegeben (Kopenhagen 1967) mit angehiingten Aufsiitzen von Erik Norman Svendsen iiber Kingos redaktionelle Arbeit und von Henrik Glahn fiber die Provenienz und weitere Oberlieferung der 123 Melodien. Ein Jahr spiiter kam ein Offset-Neudruck (Kopenhagen 1968) der facsimilierten Ausgabe 1933 von Hans Thomisson: Den danske Psalmebog (1569) mit einem neuen bibliographischen Nachwort von Erik Dal fiber Ausgaben und Inhalt des Gesangbuches 1569-1676. heraus. Und 1970 folgte die Wiederausgabe des ersten diinischen gedruckten Choral- buches: Friedrich Christian Breitendich: Fuldstandig Choral-Bog (1764) mit einer auf diinisch und deutsch abgefaltten Quelleniibersicht der 191 Melodien von Henrik Glahn (Kopenhagen 1970).

Die Denkmiilerserie Dania sonans, deren erster Band mit einer kritischen Neu- ausgabe von Mogens Pederson's ,Pratum spirituale" (1620) und erstem Madrigal- buch (1608) durch Knud Jeppesen seit 1933 vorliegt, wurde in letzter Zeit von der diinischen Gesellschaft fiir Musikforschung fortgesetzt; Dania sonans II und III, beide von Jens Peter Jacobsen mit diinischer und englischer Einfiihrung herausgegeben (Kopenhagen 1966 und 1967), enthalten kritische Neuausgaben von Madri- galen aus der Zeit Christian des Vierten von den Komponisten Hans Nielsen, Truid Aagesen, Hans Brachrogge, Mogens Pederson, Melchior Borchgrevinck und Nicolo Gistou. Die naichsten Biinde der Serie werden kirchliche und weltliche Siitze aus den von der k6niglichen Hofkantorei erhalten gebliebenen Stimmbiichern von 1541 und 1556 (Kgl. Bibl. Kopenhagen, ms. G1. kgl. Saml. 1872 und 1873, 40) enthalten.

Trends and Tendencies in Recent Swedish Musicology ANDERS LONN (STOCKHOLM)

The following report is intended as a sequel to Herbert Rosenberg's survey, Musik- wissenschaftliche Bestrebungen in Diinemark, Norwegen und Schweden in den letzten ca. 15 Jahren, in Acta musicologica 1958, pp. 118-137; by and large it covers the period from where Rosenberg left off to the end of 1971. To a greater extent than Rosenberg's article, however, it will be focused on the principal trends and tendencies, on what seems to be characteristic traits in the development of Swedish musicology during the past 10-15 years. It does not pretend to be a complete history, even less to do justice to the multiplicity of individual contributions. The purpose is to examine some of the tasks and problems that have confronted Swedish musicologists, and some of the motive forces behind the changing directions of Swedish musicological research.

A comprehensive annual bibliography of Swedish music literature is Svensk musik- historisk bibliografi, in: Svensk tidskrift f6r musikforskning (SvenskTMf). In addition, the last few years have seen a number of articles and other publications on various aspects of musicology in Sweden. The historical development has been outlined by Ingmar



12 A. Linn: Trends and Tendencies in Recent Swedish Musicology

Bengtsson in an extensive study, written for the 50th birthday of the Swedish Society for Musicology, Svenska samfundet far musikforskning 50 dr (1919-1968), in: SvenskTMf 1969, pp. 7-48. Succinct current information on musicological activities, institutions and publications is available in Musicology in Sweden, a 10-page leaflet published by the Society for the same occasion. In Musikforskare, beh6vs de? (Are Musicologists Neces- sary?), in: SvenskTMf 1969, pp. 155-158, Jan Ling has touched upon some relevant questions of the musicologist's place in society. The same problem, though from another viewpoint, is at the core of Ingmar Bengtsson's contribution to the impressive volume marking the 200th anniversary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, Fakta och funderingar om musikvetenskap i Sverige (Facts and Reflections on Musicology in Sweden), in: Svenska musikperspektiv. Minnesskrift vid Kungl. Musikaliska akademiens 200-drs- jubileum 1971 (Stockholm 1971), pp. 283-307 (with an English summary): a critical and deeply felt - not to say disillusioned - appraisal of the present role and future prospects for musicological study and research in Sweden.

To understand the distinctive features of Swedish musicology, it is necessary to know something of the conditions under which it has evolved. Perhaps the most decisive factor has been the sharp division between the "practical" instruction at the conservatoires and the "theoretical" university studies. In Sweden, senior music teachers are trained solely at the conservatoires, whose music history courses cannot

compare with those offered at the universities; conversely, no instrumental skill is required of the university graduate, nor has he any chance of acquiring it as part of his studies. Thus, while it is possible to obtain a teacher's post at the Royal College of Music or a teachers' training college with no university education, a

musicology graduate, whatever his practical gifts, is not qualified to teach music in a secondary school.

This situation goes a long way towards explaining why, in the eyes of the authorities, musicology has always been a rather esoteric subject, and why the first

chair, established at Uppsala as late as 1947, is even today the only one. For musi-

cological research, the result has been a vicious circle: limited resources and few

university posts - little incentive for graduate studies - hence no need for more

university posts..., ad infinitum. Moreover, because of the shortage of qualified musicologists, graduates have often been offered outside jobs (in libraries and

museums, mass media, administration, etc.) before completing their studies, and because of the shortage of other opportunities they have had no alternative but to accept them, to the obvious detriment of their research.

In the 1960's the situation was slightly improved by the introduction of degree courses at college level at the universities of Stockholm (in 1960), Gothenburg (1967) and Lund (1965-71 under the supervision of the Uppsala professor, and since then with its own director). This, however, in keeping with recent Swedish educational policy of giving priority to undergraduate studies, has led to no corre-

sponding reinforcements of research. And graduate studies are still confined to a single university.

Since 1958, four doctoral dissertations have been completed at Uppsala: Hans Eppstein, Studien iiber J. S. Bachs Sonaten fiir ein Melodieinstrument und obligates Cembalo (Uppsala 1966), one of the rare historical studies on a non-Swedish topic; Johan Sundberg, Mensu- rens betydelse i 6ppna labialpipor. Studier av resonansegenskaper, insviingningsfarlopp och stationiirt spektrum, with an English summary: The significance of the scaling in open



A. Linn: Trends and Tendencies in Recent Swedish Musicology 13

flue organ pipes. Investigations of resonance properties, starting transient and stationary spectrum (Uppsala 1966), an instance of the interdisciplinary orientation that will be discussed later on; Jan Ling, Nyckelharpan. Studier i ett folkligt musikinstrument, with an abbreviated version in English: The keyed fiddle. Studies on a folk instrument (Stockholm 1967), an exhaustive and in some respects pioneering monograph; and Folke Bohlin, Liturgisk sang i svenska kyrkan 1697-1897, mit einer deutschen Zusammenfassung: Liturgischer Gesang in der schwedischen Kirche 1697-1897 (Lund 1970), continuing the church music studies of Carl-Allan Moberg. Among forthcoming dissertations should be mentioned an investigation of Swedish rhymed offices, also inspired by Moberg's researches, a study of the 18th-century publisher J. J. Hummel, and a monograph on Swedish solo song 1850-1890. 1

The increasing number of undergraduates is of course reflected in the output of masters' theses. While necessarily uneven in quality, some of these are of fairly high standard, and collectively they are not negligible. To single out a few for mention, however, would be patently unfair: those interested are referred to the listings in Svenskt musikhistoriskt arkiv. Bulletin 1-3, 5 and 7.

In 1961 Ingmar Bengtsson succeeded Carl-Allan Moberg as professor of musi-

cology at Uppsala. During Moberg's tenure, the emphasis had been firmly on historical research, and Swedish scholars-as can be seen from Rosenberg's survey-- looked mainly to the art or folk music of their own country for research topics. To non-Scandinavians, who are apt to think of the Nordic countries as a unit, it

may seem curious that there are no equivalents in Sweden of the work of Knud Jep- pesen, Carsten Hoeg, or Jens Peter Larsen and their students. Ultimately, this results from the vagaries of geography: to a much greater extent than Denmark, Sweden has remained isolated from the continent. Both because of the distance to the source materials and because of the late official recognition of musicology, Swedish music historians have usually been reluctant to spend their limited resources in competing with continental scholars on their home ground. Too much is still undone in Swedish music history, too many sources-many of them inaccessible to foreigners for linguistic reasons- still await exploration.

With Bengtsson's appointment, something of a re-orientation took place. Set in train already a few years earlier, the expansion was due above all to Bengtsson's keen interest in music theory. He was dissatisfied with the use of this term in its "text-book" sense, while music theory proper, he argued, i. e. descriptive and explanatory theories of music, was all but non-existent. Specifically, his analytical studies of the composer J. H. Roman (cf. Rosenberg, op. cit., p. 127) had convinced him that current theories and conceptions of musical rhythm were inadequate and unsatisfactory, not least in their heavy dependence on notation. His insistence on a strict conceptual and terminological differentiation between music as notated, as performed (physical sound), and as experienced, in accordance with the chain model of musical communication- in skeleton form:

1 These dissertations are all for the Swedish fil. dr degree (doctor of philosophy), about on the level of the German Habilitationsschrift. This degree is now being replaced by the doktorsexamen, which is granted in a specific subject (e. g. doctor of musicology). The new degree is roughly equivalent to the former fil. lic. (licentiate of philosophy), which is also to be abolished, and corresponds to an average U.S. PhD.




producer : notation : performer/sound source : sound events : receiver

(composer) (listener) - that he introduced into Swedish musicology together with Carl Lesche, a music

psychologist, has had a profound and pervasive influence. The novelty in Bengtsson's approach lay in the emphasis on the last two links

of the chain: on the study of "music as performed" and the complex relations between physical variables and perceptual qualities. Such a program could only be carried out in close cooperation with representatives of the natural sciences, of

experimental psychology, poetics, semiotics, etc. This interdisciplinary orientation is a hallmark of much Swedish musicology since the early 1960's. With the help of

Uppsala physicists, sophisticated registration and analysis equipment was con- structed (the "melody-writers" MONA and POLLY, the measuring aid AIDA and the analogue-to-digital converter DISA), and a small group was formed for empirical research on rhythm and rhythmical behaviour. For the present, attention is mainly concentrated on the duration factor.

In an article for vol. II of Elektronische Datenverarbeitung (cf. below) Bengtsson et al. have expressed the group's "hope and expectation that these investigations ... will lead to significant contributions (a) on a theoretical level, towards firmer foundation for theories, concepts and terminology relating to rhythm; (b) on a systematic-descriptive level, towards improved description and classification of rhythm- conditioning factors; (c) on a pedagogical level, towards a better understanding of the problems of rhythmical performance and the functions and interpretation of notation with respect to rhythm".

In the international perspective, Bengtsson came to see in the empirical research an opportunity for Swedish musicology to fill a niche of its own. For the reasons

given before, he feared that an exclusively historical orientation would lead to a narrowness of outlook, if not to near-isolation. The "theoretical" research, however, had no such drawbacks: it was independent of local source material, similar projects elsewhere were yet in their infancy if they existed at all, the technological know-how was at hand, and so, too, were colleagues with the necessary qualifications in the

neighbouring disciplines.

Bengtsson's ideas on music theory are embodied in: Ingmar Bengtsson, On relationships between tonal and rhythmic structures in Western multipart music, in: SvenskTMf 1961, pp. 49-76; Idem, Glber Korrelationen zwischen Durationsvariable und Rhythmuserlebnis, in: Kongrepfbericht Kassel 1962 (Kassel 1963), pp. 276-279; Idem, On Melody Registra- tion and "Mona", in: Elektronische Datenverarbeitung in der Musikwissenschaft I, hrsg. von H. Heckmann (Regensburg 1967), pp. 136-174. In addition to the latter article, the rhythm research is specifically dealt with in Ingmar Bengtsson, Alf Gabrielsson & Stig- Magnus Thors6n, Empirisk rytmforskning, in: SvenskTMf 1969, pp. 49-118; Ingmar Bengtsson, Studies with the Aid of Computers of "Music as Performed", in: Kongrefl- bericht Ljubljana 1967 (Kassel 1970), pp. 443-444; Idem, Musik och naturvetenskap (Music and the Natural Sciences), in: Svensk naturvetenskap 1966, pp. 325-348 (with an English summary); P.-A. Tove, B. Norman, C. Isaksson & J. Czekajewski, Directrecord- ing Frequency and Amplitude Meter for Analysis of Music and Other Sonic Waveforms, in: Journal of the Acoustic Society of America 1966/2, pp. 362-371; K. Maim, Ndgra metoder vid studiet av kronometriska viirden i enstiimmig musik (Some Methods for the



A. L6nn: Trends and Tendencies in Recent Swedish Musicology 15

Study of Chronometric Values in Monophonic Music), mimeographed fil. lic. thesis (Uppsala 1969); Ingmar Bengtsson, Per-Arne Tove & Stig-Magnus Thorsen, Sound Anal- ysis Equipment and Rhythm Research Ideas at the Institute of Musicology in Uppsala, in: Studia instrumentorum musicae popularis II, hrsg. von E. Stockmann (Stockholm 1972), pp. 53-76; I. Bengtsson, B. Castman, L.-E. Larsson & S.-M. Thorsen, A Technique and a Program for Computer Treatment of Duration Values in Music Performance, in: Elek- tronische Datenverarbeitung in der Musikwissenschaft II (in preparation).

In the second half of the 1960's, another project based on a similar approach to music theory was initiated. Supported by a grant from the Bank of Sweden anniversary fund, a "group for research into the acoustics of music" was established at the Royal Institute of Technology (Kungl. Tekniska hdgskolan, KTH), Stockholm. The team consisted of a musicologist, Johan Sundberg (whose doctoral dissertation on the acoustics of organ pipes has been cited above), and two civil engineers, Frans Fransson and Erik Jansson.

The fundamental aim of the group is to formulate explanatory theories of music that will shed light on human behaviour and mental properties in general. For part of the program they have been able to draw on the well-developed acoustical research within the Department of Speech Communication at the KTH, as well as having its advanced technological resources at their disposal. Three principal lines of investigation may be distinguished: into the functions and acoustical properties of instruments (which has led to cooperation with the Institute for optical research, for utilization of the "hologram interferometry" technique), and of the human voice; into intonation and human pitch perception; and into the psychological processes and fundamental structures of music and musical behaviour. To the latter end, Sund- berg and Bjdm Lindblom, a linguist, have taken a first step towards a generative theory of melody - an application of the generative grammar of Chomsky and others to materials taken from the nursery songs of Alice Tegner (1864-1943). The resulting systems of rules for metrical organization and tone assignment have been translated into a computer program capable of generating simple melodies. For the analysis of performed music, a different approach from that adopted at Uppsala has been chosen, and for certain purposes the solutions are more conven- ient: statistical computer measurements of fundamental frequencies in monophonic music, and the development of a computer program for automatic notation.

The researches of the acoustics group are regularly documented in the Speech Transmission Laboratory Quarterly Progress and Status Report, issued by the Department of Speech Communication. The articles are usually in English. An annual survey in Swedish is included in Kungl. Musikaliska akademiens Hrsskrift (Yearbook of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music). A recent summary report is to be found in: SvenskTMf 1971, pp. 108-109.

The purely acoustical investigations have mainly been concerned with wind instruments and the human voice, lately also with the violin. Publications include: Johan Sundberg, The "Scale" of Musical Instruments, in: SvenskTMf 1967, pp. 119-133, an important theoretical and terminological analysis; Idem, Formant Structure and Articulation of Spoken and Sung Vowels, in: Folia phoniatrica 1970, pp. 28-48; E. Jansson, N.-E. Molin & H. Sundin, Resonances of a Violin Body Studied by Hologram Interferometry and Acoustical Methods, in: Physica scripta 1970; Frans Fransson, Studies on Flutes Regard-



16 A. L6nn: Trends and Tendencies in Recent Swedish Musicology

ing Air Velocity and Sound, paper at the 7th International Congress on Acoustics, Budapest 1971; Per Tjernlund, Johan Sundberg & Frans Fransson, Grundfrequenzmessungen an schwedischen Kernspaltfl6ten, in: Studia instrumentorum musicae popularis II (Stockholm 1972), p. 77-96.

The generative theory of melody and the automatic notation are presented in: Bjrn Lind- blom & Johan Sundberg, Towards a Generative Theory of Melody, in: SvenskTMf 1970, pp. 71-88 (with further references); Idem, Rules for the Assignment of Tones in a Gener- ative Theory of Melody, paper at the 9th Acoustic conference, High Tatra, Czechoslovakia, August 31 to September 4, 1971; Frans Fransson, Johan Sundberg & Per Tjernlund, Statistical Computer Measurements of the Tone-scale in Played Music, to be published in: Suomen musiikin vuosikirja; Johan Sundberg & Per Tjernlund, A Computer Program for the Notation of Played Music, ibidem.

A token of the position of the theoretical research within Swedish musicology in the 1960's was the 50th anniversary of the Swedish Society for Musicology in 1969, marked by an inter-Nordic conference on Nyorienteringar inom omradet musikteori

(New directions in music theory) at Hiisselby manor outside Stockholm. The papers ranged from information theory and the use of statistical models to music psychology; they have since been published tin SvenskTMf 1970, pp. 35-88. As a kind of

follow-up, the Uppsala Institute of musicology arranged a ten-day course in advanced music theory at Hiisselby in 1971, with participants from the other Nordic countries.

If the first three quarters of the 1960's were marked by the rise of the empirical music theory, the late 60's and early 70's may fairly be said to be characterized by the rise of empirical music sociology. Although the social aspects featured prom- inently in the historical writings and teaching of Carl-Allan Moberg, and have not been neglected by his pupils, research into contemporary musical life received its first impetus in 1967, when the sociologist G6ran Nyl6f published his pioneering study Musikvanor i Sverige (Musical Preferences and Habits in Sweden). Based on a questionnaire distributed to a sample of some 2,800 Swedes, representing the total population between the ages of 16 and 70, the study had been commissioned

by an official committee charged with the planning of an improved national music distribution network. While Nylif's findings seem to have had little influence on the committee's final report, they added fuel to the subsequent lively debate on musical policies. The recommendations of the committee led to the establishment of the

state-supported Institutet f6r Rikskonserter (Foundation for Nationwide Concerts), a national agency responsible for promoting musical activities (rather than tradi- tional "concerts") in the Swedish provinces. A special section for sociological studies was set up within the organization, to evaluate the effects and aid in planning future work, with Nylbf and another sociologist, Jan Nordberg, on the staff.

Nylif's Musikvanor i Sverige was published as an appendix to: Rikskonserter. Konsert- byrautredningens slutbetfiinkande (Final Report of the Concert Bureau Commission) (Stock- holm 1967). A useful summary in English is Paavo Heininen, Sociology of music in Scan- dinavia, in: Nomus News (October 1970), pp. 9-12 (issued by the Swedish committee for




Nordic music cooperation), which includes a comparison with a similar Finnish investigation. Several other studies have been based on the data gathered by Nylif, among them some masters' theses at the sociological institutes at the universities of Stockholm and Uppsala, as well as Gbran Nylibf, Den ojiimlika kontakten med musik. Nagra fbrs6k till farklaring av den strataberoende musikaktiviteten (Musical Unequality. Some Tentative Explanations of Musical Activities Related to Social Strata), mimeographed report (Riks- konserter 1970). A general survey is G. Nylif, Sociologiska undersiakningar (Sociological Investigations), in: Rikskonserter 1970 (a yearbook), pp. 64-71. The various investigations are summarised in popular form in a special periodical, Utfallet (in Swedish), issued at irregular intervals.

Inherent in the music sociology that was ushered in by Nylif's survey, was a new role for the musicologist in society: that of purveyor of factual information on which to base social and political decisions. This is the underlying rationale of the "social-oriented musicology" that was initiated by Jan Ling at Gothenburg in 1967/68. But while Nylbf had regarded the sociology of music as a branch of sociology in general, Ling has stressed the need for a methodology that would encompass the "communicative content" and the experience of musical structures. He has also stressed the importance of the historical background for an under-

standing of contemporary phenomena. Interdisciplinary contacts naturally include sociology, but also social anthropology, political science, education, and business science.

The major project under way at Gothenburg (on a grant from the Bank of Sweden fund) is a survey of "Musical activities in an industrial community" somewhat on the lines of Nylif's study, but restricted to a population of 5,000: the new industrial town of Stenungsund, near Gothenburg. (The project is an off-shoot of a much more ambitious attempt at a survey of Gothenburg itself, which resulted in a number of case studies, but was then more or less suspended.) The Stenungsund investigations involve a descriptive survey of the musical life of the community: against this back-

ground the musical attitudes of the inhabitants are studied, with particular regard to isolating musical sub-cultures, i. e. groups whose musical preferences can be related to various social variables. By cooperation with Rikskonserter, an experimental element has been introduced in the form of a series of concerts held in the spring of 1971, whose lasting effects, if any, are to be assessed at a later date.

The aims and theories behind the Gothenburg research are set out in Jan Ling, Music- Sociological Projects in Gothenburg, in: International Review of Music Aesthetics and Sociology 1971/1, pp. 119-130. For the numerous case studies and descriptive surveys of Gothenburg, cf. the listings in Svenskt musikhistoriskt arkiv. Bulletin, nos. 5 and 7. The first stage of the Stenungsund project is reported in: Jan Ling & Bengt Erdmann, Musiklivet p. en industriort (Musical Life in an Industrial Community), mimeographed (Giteborg 1970).

To say that the theoretical and the sociological projects are distinctive and novel features of contemporary Swedish musicology is not to imply that they dominate it. In the two latest listings of dissertations and masters' essays completed and in




progress,2 the theoretical subjects amount to less than 10 per cent of the total, the

sociological to less than 20; the corresponding figure for historical muslicology lies between 40 and 45 per cent. Folk music is about on a par with sociology, and the remainder is accounted for by studies of musical instruments and a few miscel- laneous subjects. (The data are too unreliable for accurate statistics, but as a rough guide the figures will serve.) Clearly, then, the impact of the newer trends must not be exaggerated. It is probably also true that their importance for Swedish musicology in the 1960's lies not so much in the results that have been achieved - most of which are still rather embryonic, - as in the effects on the musicological climate.

They have brought new dimensions to Swedish musicology, and helped to underline the need for scholars in other fields to re-examine their goals and their methods.

In music history, by comparison, the picture is less clear-cut. A few general trends are discernible, but hardly the sense of direction that is so evident in the other areas.

One such trend, not unexpectedly, is an increasing interest in the music of our own century. Breaking down the above percentage for historical studies, the ratio between pre-1900 and post-1900 subjects is approximately 5:4-while fifteen years ago, 20th-century topics were, if not unheard of, at least exceedingly rare. As will be seen below, a number of books on contemporary music have also appeared.

Another trend has more far-reaching implications. It is bound up with a concep- tion of historical scholarship that emphasises analysis and interpretation of sources and data, and regards the collecting of the sources and gathering (or, with a modem term: retrieving) of the data as necessary preliminaries to research rather than research proper. The most notable manifestation of this view was the foundation, in 1965, of the Swedish Music History Archive (Svenskt musikhistoriskt arkiv, SMA), on a grant from the Swedish Humanistic Research Council.

Although there were Swedish precedents for the name, it is something of a misnomer. The archive 'is not a repository for original sources; instead, it serves as a general documentation and information centre in the field of Swedish music

history. Its task is to assist the scholar in his search for the sources: to carry out inventories, catalogue and index information from previous work, persuade scholars to share their unused excerpts and prevent duplication of effort. Relegating docu-

mentary work to a central institute should not only improve efficiency and partly make up for the lags and gaps occasioned by the earlier scanty resources, it should also leave scholars free to devote more of their time to fundamentals.

At present, the work at the archive proceeds along four lines: (1) documentation of current literature, with particular stress on in-depth indexing (for the time being in card files) of music literature in periodicals; in connection with this, the archive

is responsible for the Swedish RILM work; (2) systematic inventoring of archival sources, which will be indexed by the same system as that used for literature, bringing together information from all kinds of sources in a central index; unique or rare musical sources are also collected in microform; (3) experiments in the retrieval of historical data (not merely references) by computer; (4) dissemination

2 In Svenskt musikhistoriskt arkiv. Bulletin 5 (1969) and 7 (1971).




of information, by a regular Bulletin and the series Musik i Sverige (documents, catalogues, studies), published in cooperation with the Swedish Society for Musi- cology, as well as selective information to individual scholars.

The aims and the activities of the Swedish Music History Archive have been described in: Axel Helmer, The Swedish Archives of Music History, in: Fontes artis musicae 1967, pp. 101-103; Idem, Fran kiillorna till forskarna. Om dokumentationsarbetet vid Svenskt musikhistoriskt arkiv (From the Sources to the Scholars. On the Documentation Work at SMA), in: Svenska musikperspektiv (Stockholm 1971), pp. 308-315 (with an English summary); Axel Helmer & Wolfram Uhlmann, Retrieval of Historical Data. Towards a Computerized Concert Index at the Swedish Archives of Music History, in: Fontes artis musicae 1969, pp. 48-56. Seven issues of the Bulletin have appeared, and two volumes of the series Music in Sweden: Abraham Abrahamsson Hiilphers, Historisk afhandling om musik och instrumenter (An Historical Treatise on Music and Musical Instruments), a facsimile of the original edition of 1773 (Stockholm 1969); Gustaf Ruuth, Katalog 6ver iildre musikalier i Per Brahegymnasiet i Jiink6ping (A Catalogue of the Music Collection in Per Brahegymnasiet) (Stockholm 1971).

Among other documentation projects, mention must be made of the Swedish Section of AIBM (founded in 1953), which completed a first part of its objective in the 1960's: the cataloguing of some 11,000 printed works in some 30 Swedish libraries. An interesting feature of the manuscript cataloguing now in progress is the coded thematic index (employing I. Bengtsson's "Numericode", cf. SvenskTMf 1967, pp. 5-40), which to date contains around 30,000 incipits and has allowed a great number of anonymous 18th-century works to be identified.

The existence of these and other large-scale undertakings has not abolished the need for specialist contributions by individual scholars. Among the most important are:

Ake Davidsson, Isliindskt musiktryck i fildre tider (Older Music Printing in Iceland), in: SvenskTMf 1961, pp. 99-108; Idem, Danskt musiktryck intill 1700-talets mitt (Danish Music Printing Up to the Mid-eighteenth Century) (Uppsala 1962); Idem, Bibliographie der musiktheoretischen Drucke des 16. Jahrhunderts (Baden-Baden 1962); Idem, Catalogue of the Gimo collection of Italian manuscript music in the University library of Uppsala, (Uppsala 1963); Idem, Bibliographie zur Geschichte des Musikdrucks (Uppsala 1965); Cari Johansson, Studier kring Patrik Alstr6mers musiksamling (A Study of the Music Collection of Patrik Alstrimer), in: SvenskTMf 1961, pp. 195-207; Idem Nagot om de iildre samlingarna i Kungl. Musikaliska akademiens bibliotek (Some Notes on the Older Collections in the Library of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music), in: Svenska Musik- perspektiv (Stockholm 1971), pp. 88-114 (with an English summary); Albert Dunning, Die De Geer'schen Musikalien in Leufsta. Musikalische schwedisch-niederliindische Bezie- hungen im 18. Jahrhundert, in: SvenskTMf 1966, pp. 187-210; Gustaf HillestrSm, Kungl. Musikaliska akademien. Matrikel 1771-1971 (The Royal Swedish Academy of Music. Calendar of members 1771-1971) (Stockholm 1971).

With regard to the documentation of recorded music, tribute should be paid to Carl- Gunnar Ahlkn's Svensk skifirteckning (Swedish Discography), 1964-66, in: SvenskTMf 1968, pp. 199-232 and 1966-67, in: SvenskTMf 1969, pp. 225-250, as well as to the series of discographies of Swedish record companies by Bjirn Englund and others, issued by Nationalfonoteket (the Swedish Archives of Recorded Sound).

Finally, attention should be called to the Index to vols. 1-50, 1919-1968 of the Swedish Journal of Musicology, ed. by Jan Olof Rudin (Uppsala 1969).



20 A. LUnn: Trends and Tendencies in Recent Swedish Musicology

Important, indeed vital, as they are, the achievements in bibliography and documentation are no substitute for actual research. And here, as has already been indicated, historical musicology has largely been a matter of individual efforts. There have been no historical team-work projects comparable to those in music

theory and sociology, no comparable interdisciplinary cooperation or methodolog- ical renewal. (Two recent moves in this direction failed to raise the necessary funds.) It is symbolic of the situation that a long-awaited handbook of Swedish music

history has yet to materialize. But if our picture of music history in Sweden has not radically altered in 15 years, at any rate some of the lacunae have been filled in and some of the question marks straightened. The following bird's-eye view of the literature will take the form of a selective catalogue raisonne:

Middle Ages and Renaissance. After Carl-Allan Moberg, the leading medieval scholar is Ingmar Milveden. His sparse but weighty output includes: Die

schriftliche Fixierung eines Quintenorganums in einem Antiphonar-Fragment der

Diczese Abo, in SvenskTMf 1962, pp. 63-65, Manuskript, Monch und Mond. Ein

Hauptteil des Cod. Upsal. C 23 in quellenkritischer Beleuchtung, in SvenskTMf 1964,

pp. 9-25 (an ingenious exercise in dating manuscripts by means of paleography and medieval astrology), and a number of articles in Kulturhistoriskt lexikon far nordisk medeltid (Dictionary of Nordic Cultural History in the Middle Ages),3 an

outstanding scholarly encyclopedia. Among the few publications on 16th-century music are Bengt Hambraeus, Codex

carminum gallicorum. Une etude sur le volume Musique vocale du manuscrit 87 de la Bibliothbque de l'Universite d'Upsala (Uppsala 1961), and Gunnar Larsson's

iconographic study Zwei singende Narren im Schlofl Gripsholm, in SvenskTMf 1963,

pp. 95-105. Seventeenth cent u r y. Of more than local importance are the studies of the

well-known Diiben collection: Bruno Grusnick, Die Diibensammlung. Ein Versuch ihrer chronologischen Ordnung I-III, in SvenskTMf 1964, pp. 27-82 and 1966,

pp. 63-186; a part IV is in preparation. Some of Grusnick's results are in conflict with the findings of Jan Olof Ruden, Vattenmiirken och musikforskning. Presen- tation och tilliimpning av en dateringsmetod pa musikalier i handskrift i Uppsala universitetsbiblioteks Diibensamling (Watermarks and Musciology. Presentation and Application of a Method of Dating to Music MSS in the Diiben Collection,

Uppsala University Library), mimeographed fil. lic. thesis (Uppsala 1968). In Stock- holm - stormaktstidens musikcentrum (Stockholm, Musical Centre in the Great Power Period), in Kultur och samhille i stormaktstidens Sverige (Stockholm 1967), pp. 125-148, Gunnar Larsson has shed new light on the origins of the collection

by proving that Gustaf Diiben's European journey took place too early to be taken

into account. Larsson's essay, based on the author's archival researches, continues the sociological approach to music history that is a legacy from Carl-Allan Moberg's Fran kyrko- och hovmusik till offentlig konsert (From Church and Court Music to

s The articles have been collected in a mimeographed Festschrift, presented to the author on 15 February, 1970.




Public Concerts) from 1942; this germinal work was issued in reprint form in 1970.

Finally, mention should be made of Bengt Kyhlberg's genealogical investigation, Niir friddes Gustav Diiben d. ai.? (When was G. D. Senior Born?), in a typewritten Festschrift to Ingmar Bengtsson, 2 March 1970, and the same author's Vem var

orgelbyggaren Frantz Boll? (Who Was the Organ Builder F.B.?), in SvenskTMf 1961, pp. 209-213.

Eighteenth century. Pride of place must be given to Ingmar Bengtsson's Anteckningar om Per Brant (Notes on P.B.), in SvenskTMf 1963, pp. 5-32, 1965, pp. 7-49, and 1966, pp. 5-61. These fascinating studies of the life and works of a Swedish court musician and colleague of J. H. Roman's are object lessons in archival research, biography, cultural history, and music analysis alike. Not their least intriguing feature is Bengtsson's conclusion, from a combination of source criticism and stylistic evidence, that of 19 compositions attributed to Brant (among them 3 sinfonias, 1 overture, 1 cantata and various smaller instrumental and vocal

pieces), only one-a song for solo voice and thorough-bass-is undoubtedly authentic!

Other studies of 18th-century composers include: GOista Morin, Ferdinand Zellbell d. al. Liv och verk (The Life and Works of F. Z., Senior), in SvenskTMf 1961, pp. 265-271; Martin Tegen, Uttinis tryckta triosonater op. 1 (The Printed Trio Sonatas Op. 1 of Uttini), in SvenskTMf 1961, pp. 311-320, and Erland Sundstr6m, Francesco Antonio Uttini som musikdramatiker (F. A. U. as a Musical Dramatist), in SvenskTMf 1963, pp. 33-93. In a series of articles, Irmgard Leux-Henschen has devoted herself to the lively debate on music aesthetics in the journal Stockholms Posten around 1780 (in SvenskTMf 1956, 1958, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970 and Samlaren 1966): her identification of J. M. Kraus as the anonymous Gluck protag- onist has been hotly disputed by literary historians, cf. Sverker Ek in Samlaren 1968.

Ni neteenth century. Even more than in the case of the previous century, the emphasis is on single composers. The famous Swedish poet, Erik Gustaf Geijer (1783-1847), who was also a gifted musical amateur, has been studied in two articles by Stig Walin, Geijer och musiken (G. and Music) and Ingmar Bengtsson, Tonsiittaren Geijer (G. as a Composer), both in Geijerstudier III (Uppsala 1958). Among the additions to the Berwald literature more or less inspired by the centenary of his death in 1968 should be mentioned Sten Broman, Franz Berwalds stamtraid (F. B.'s Family Tree), in SvenskTMf 1968, pp. 7-50; a special Berwald issue (no. 6, 1968) of the periodical Musikrevy; Nils Castegren, Franz Berwalds kompositions- klass vid Musikkonservatoriet 1867-68, (F. B.'s Class in Composition at the Royal Conservatory 1867-68), in the Bengtsson Festschrift; and the remarkable biography by the former Keeper of the National Archives, Ingvar Andersson, Franz Berwald 1-2 (Stockholm 1970-71). The preparations for a volume of Berwald documents to complement the collected edition of his works (cf. below) have involved exhaustive inventories and resulted in a special archive of Berwald material; a sample is given in Briefe Franz Berwalds an Julius Schuberth, by Berwald-Kommittin, in Musik und Verlag. Karl V6tterle zum 65. Geburtstag (Kassel 1968, pp. 152-158.) Another anniversary gave rise to Lennart Hedwall's Anteckningar kring Wilhelm Peterson-



22 A. Lnn: Trends and Tendencies in Recent Swedish Musicology

Bergers pianosviter (Notes on the Piano Suites of W.P.-B.), in SvenskTMf 1967, pp. 41-117. The many facets of musical Romanticism are the subject of Ingmar Bengtsson's study, Romantisch-nationale Striimungen in deutscher und skandi- navischer Musik, in Norddeutsche und nordeuropiiische Musik. Referate der Kieler

Tagung 1963 (Kassel 1965, pp. 42-47). T wentieth centur y. Towering above other publications is Bo Wallner's

Var tids musik i Norden. Fran 20-tal till 60-tal (Nordic Music of Our Time. From the 20's to the 60's; Stockholm 1968; an English edition is in preparation), a monumental survey that testifies to the author's unsurpassed knowledge of the sources and the repertoire. (Part of the material appeared in Scandinavian Music after the Second World War, in Musical Quarterly 1965/1, pp. 111-143.) A recent book

by Wallner is 40-tal. En klippbok om Mandagsgruppen och det svenska musiklivet

(The 40's. A Scrapbook on the Monday Group and Musical Life in Sweden) (Stockholm 1971) -an engaging portrait of the influential coterie of modernistic

composers and musicians who paved the way for the radical trends of the next decades.

The restrictions to "Swedish" topics do not apply so strongly in writings on

20th-century music. A case in point is Ove Nordwall's documentary studies of

contemporary composers: on Ligeti (1966 and 1968), Stravinsky (1967), Luto- slawski (1968, in English) and Fran Mahler till Ligeti. En antologi om vdr tids musik

(From Mahler to Ligeti. An Anthology on Contemporary Music; Stockholm 1965). Musicological source material is provided by the composer Jan W. Morthenson's aesthetic credo, Nonfigurative Musik (Stockholm 1966); another glimpse into the

composer's workshop is Bengt Hambraeus' Visioner - f6rvandlingar - aterblickar.

Reflexioner i fyra avsnitt liver nHgra egna verk (Visions - Transformations -

Retrospections. Reflections in Four Parts on Some of My Works), in SvenskTMf 1970, pp. 7-34.

In 1958, Herbert Rosenberg concluded his survey with the observation that, up to then, financial difficulties had prevented "die in Diinemark und Schweden seit

langem [the Swedish plans were first announced in 1954] vorgesehene Publikation von Denkmiilerausgaben". In 1958, by a happy coincidence, appeared the first volume of Monumenta musicae Svecicae (published by the Swedish Society for

Musicology): six of J. H. Roman's Assaggi for unaccompanied violin, edited by Ingmar Bengtsson. The initial delay had been due as much to the scarcity of willing and able editors as to a lack of funds; in neither of these respects was there any rapid improvement, and the rather erratic rate of publication soon made the pre- liminary plans for one volume a year seem highly optimistic.

To date, six volumes have appeared. Roman's Assaggi was followed in 1960 by Joseph Martin Kraus, Sinfonie c moll (1783), ed. by Richard Englinder. In 1962 came Lennart Reimers's edition of an anonymous Johannespassion from about 1600, in 1965 another Roman volume: Sinfonie 1-3, ed. by Ingmar Bengtsson, and in 1968 Drei Vokalwerke der schwedischen GrofJmachtepoche, ed. by Carl-Allan Moberg & Jan Olof Rud~n. In 1970, finally, appeared a long-awaited edition of Johan Wikmanson's three extant String quartets, by Erling Lomnis & Bonnie Hammar.



A. Linn: Trends and Tendencies in Recent Swedish Musicology 23

If the progress was slow, this was due in no small measure to another ambitious venture started in the 1960's, with the Berwald centenary in 1968 in mind: the publication of Franz Berwald Siimtliche Werke under Bairenreiter's imprint as a Sonderreihe of the Monumenta series. The edition, to comprise some 25 volumes, is entrusted to a special committee under Ingmar Bengtsson's chairmanship.

The first volume to appear was no. 11, Streichquartette, ed. by Nils Castegren, Lars Fryd6n & Erling Lomnis (1966): beside the symphonies, they contain some of Berwald's best music. It was followed by: Sinfonie singulibre, ed. by Herbert Blomstedt (1967); the opera Drottningen av Golconda (The Queen of Golconda), ed. by Folke Lindberg (1968 - a day or two before its first performance!); Tongemiilde II, ed. by Nils Castegren (1970). The Sinfonie capricieuse was published at the end of 1971.

A necessary adjunct to editing is the study of performance practice. Apart from passing comments in the Monumenta volumes, the main efforts went into an exten- sively revised and expanded translation of Thurston Dart's The Interpretation of Music; the Swedish version, Musikalisk praxis (Stockholm 1964) (361 pages as against the 192 of the original), ed. by Ingmar Bengtsson, was the result of a team-work within the Stockholm "Collegium musicum", an informal association of musicologists and performers with an interest in early music.

It remains to take a brief look at Swedish folk music research in the period under consideration. As in historical musicology, much effort has gone into centralized documentation projects, somewhat to the cost of analytical studies of the material and the milieu. In folk music, of course, collecting is quite literally a vital question, and there is no doubt that in a sense time is running out. This argument, however, is about as old as folk music collecting itself, and there is equally little doubt that in another sense time ran out long ago. Partly because of this, it has sometimes been proposed that Swedish folk music research should stop concentrating on the tenuous remnants of "tradition", and devote itself to a study of present-day conditions on the broadest possible basis. This view, however, has not markedly influ- enced Swedish work in the field in the 1960's, and it is difficult to see why the alternatives must be mutually exclusive; instead, recent trends are in the direction of a special popular music research.

Swedish folk music owes much to the work of Carl-Allan Moberg; recently, four of his notable studies from the 1950's in SvenskTMf were made available in German translation in book form: Studien zur schwedischen Volksmusik (Uppsala 1971). Before turning to sociology, his pupil Jan Ling produced, in his survey Svensk folkmusik (Stockholm 1964), what is probably the only best-seller in the history of Swedish musicology. The same author's Levin Christian Wiedes vissamling. En studie i 1800-talets folkliga vissvng (The Song Collection of L. C. W. A Study of 19th-century Folk Song) (Uppsala 1965) is a revised version of his fil. lic. thesis. Ingmar Bengtsson, in Anteckningar om 20 sekun- der svensk folkmusic (Remarks on 20 Seconds of Swedish Folk Music), in: Festskrift til Olav Gurvin (Oslo 1968), pp. 32-48, has discussed measuring and interpretation problems in connection with MONA registrations of folk music; the equipment has also been utilized for some masters' theses.



24 A. Lbnn: Trends and Tendencies in Recent Swedish Musicology

The central documentation institute is Svenskt visarkiv (the Swedish Centre for

Folksong Research). Begun as a private foundation in 1951, it was nationalized in 1970; and from being mainly concerned with registration and indexing of folk song sources, its scope has been extended in the course of the late 1960's to include also instrumental music and recording work. Its holdings of recorded material number some 1,000 tapes with about 8,000 items, divided between instrumental and vocal

pieces.

A survey of objectives and activities is Margareta Jersild, Svenskt visarkiv 20 dr, in: SvenskTMf 1971, pp. 109-113. Among the Centre's publications may be mentioned: Om visor och ldtar. Studier tilliignade Sven Salin (Songs and Instrumental Tunes. Studies Presented to Sven Salkn) (Stockholm 1960); Jan Ling & Margareta Jersild, A Method of Cataloguing Vocal Folk Music. A Description of the System Used at the Svenskt visarkiv (Stockholm 1965); Bengt R. Jonsson, Svensk balladtradition. I. Balladkillor och balladtyper (The Medieval Ballad in Swedish Tradition. I. Ballad Sources and Ballad Types) (Stockholm 1967), a painstaking and exhaustive inventory and classification of the sources, on which will be based a complete edition of Sweden's medieval ballads. A product of her work at the Centre is also Margareta Jersild's fil. lic. thesis, Melodier till iildre skillingtrycksvisor. Studier rbrande meloditradition och melodibyte i svensk folklig vissang (Older Broadside Melodies. A Study of Melodic Traditions and Melodic Interchange in Swedish Folk Song), mimeographed (Uppsala 1968).

Of major importance in folk music recording are the activities of the Swedish

Broadcasting Corporation over a number of years. Unfortunately, little of this material is generally available, but two outstanding publications have appeared:

Den medeltida balladen (The Medieval Ballad): 4 LP records, RELP, 5003-5006 (with an introduction and commentary ed. by Matts Arnberg, Stockholm 1962); Jojk: 7 LP records, RELP 1029 (with a commentary by Matts Arnberg, Israel Ruong & Hakan Unsgaard, Jojk. En presentation av lapsk folkmusik (Yoik. A Presentation of Lapp music) (Stockholm 1969).

A third institution in the field is Musikmuseet (formerly Musikhistoriska museet, the Museum of Music History), whose folk music activities are naturally centered on the instruments. Through its curator, Ernst Emsheimer, the museum is involved in the work of the Study Group on Folk Musical Instruments of the International Folk Music Council; Emsheimer is also one of the editors of the Handbuch der euro-

piiischen Volksmusikinstrumente.

The Museum's publication series includes the reports from the 2nd (1967) and 3rd (1969) conferences of the Study Group, the last of which took place in Stockholm: Studia instrumentorum musicae popularis I (Stockholm 1969), and II (Stockholm 1972), as well as Ernst Emsheimer, Studia ethnomusicologica eurasiatica (Stockholm 1964) and Jan Ling's lavishly illustrated doctoral dissertation on the keyed fiddle, cited on p. 13. Two masters' theses by members of the Museum's staff, one on the Swedish spilapipa and the other on the wooden-shoe fiddle, are available in mimeographed form. Work on the Swedish volume of the Handbuch is in progress.

With regard to the study of musical instruments in general, the chief contributions have been mentioned in connection with the acoustical research. To these might be added:




Stig Walin, Zur Frage der Stimmung von den Buxtehude-Orgeln, in: SvenskTMf 1962, pp. 13-29; Einar Erici's invaluable Inventarium bver bevarade iildre kyrkorglar (Inventory of Extant Older Church Organs) (Stockholm 1965); Carl-Allan Moberg's historical study Fistula und Fidhla. Zur Kritik altschwedischer Musiknotizen, in: Festschrift fiir Erich Schenk (Graz 1962), pp. 369-377; and the reprint of Hiilphes' treatise on organs (cf. p. 19).

Swedish musicology is a small discipline in a small country. It is heavily depend- ent on the initiatives and energies of a few leading scholars, on institutions outside the universities, and on the support of research councils and private cultural foun- dations. There is no shortage of urgent tasks for the future, of ideas, plans, and

projects, both on the lines indicated above and in other directions.4 Only by a purposeful balancing of ends and means is there a prospekt of carrying out more than a fraction of them.

4 Examples are given in INGMAR BENGTSSON'S article Fakta och funderingar om musikvetenskap i Sverige, referred to at the beginning of this survey.

Neuere norwegische musikwissenschaftliche Arbeiten

DAG SCHJELDERUP-EBBE (OSLO)

In den letzten fiinfzehn Jahren ist in Norwegen eine rege Tiitigkeit auf verschie- denen Gebieten der Musikwissenschaft zu verzeichnen gewesen. Rund 80 Arbeiten mehrerer Forscher sind in dieser Zeit, hauptsiichlich

in Norwegen und in norwegischer Sprache, z. T. jedoch auch in deutscher oder englischer Sprache, im Druck erschienen.

Auiterdem sind 50 Abhandlungen (alle in norwegischer Sprache) zur Erwerbung des Magister artium- und Cand. philol.-Grades am Musikwissenschaftlichen Institut der Universitit Oslo entstanden, die bisher nicht ver6ffentlicht worden sind . Im folgenden werden einige der publizierten Arbeiten innerhalb der angefiihrten Gat- tungen in chronologischer Reihenfolge erwaihnt.

1. Sammelpublikationen Fiinf derartige Bainde, auf deren Inhalt im folgenden eingegangen wird, erschienen

seit 1956: Das musikwissenschaftliche Jahrbuch Norsk musikkgranskning. Arbok (= NMA), 1954-1955 (Oslo 1956), 1956-1958 (Oslo 1959), 1959-1961 (Oslo 1961). Diese Jahrbiicher sind von Norsk samfund for musikkgranskning unter Redaktion von 0. M. Sandvik herausgegeben. - Norsk musikkforskerlag brachte Studia Musicologica I (= SMN) unter der Redaktion von Olav Gurvin heraus. - Mit Finn Benestad und Philip Kromer als Herausgebern erschien Festskrift til Olav Gurvin (= FOG) (Oslo, 1968).

1 Diese Arbeiten, die sich hauptsiichlich mit norwegischer Musik und norwegischer Musikgeschichte beschiif- tigen, werden im folgenden nicht beriicksichtigt. Die Manuskripte dieser Arbeiten verwahrt die Universitits- bibliothek, Oslo.



trends and tendencies in recent swedish musicology

Documents