VocalEssence

VocalEssence
  • Who We Are
    • About VocalEssence
    • Performing Ensembles
    • Staff
    • Collaborators
    • Board of Directors
      • VocalEssence ¡Cantaré! Advisory Council
      • VocalEssence WITNESS Advisory Council
    • Advancing Inclusion, Access, and Equity
  • What We Do
    • Why Sing?
    • Concerts and Events
    • Celebrating Black Excellence
    • Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle
    • Learning and Engagement Programs
    • Contests and Awards
    • Commissioning and Recording
    • Accessibility
  • Stories & Results
    • #vesotashareshope
    • COVID-19 Updates
    • GPS & Friends
    • Inclusion Access and Equity
    • Musical Moments
    • Performing Ensembles
    • Schools & Education
    • Take 5 with GPS
    • Together We Sing
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
      • Bridge to the Future Campaign
    • Engage a Choir
    • Sing with Us
    • Join the Board
    • Volunteer
    • Work at VocalEssence
  • Login
  • On Demand
  • Buy Tickets
  • Donate
Search
More...

F. Melius Christiansen | Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle

February 13, 2021

Share

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • email

In this Musical Moment, VocalEssence artistic director and founder Philip Brunelle shares insider information and beautiful music by the composer F. Melius Christiansen.

F. Melius Christiansen

1871-1955

F. Melius Christiansen is an American conductor, educator, and composer of Norwegian birth known for founding and arranging music for the St. Olaf Choir. Born into a family of amateur musicians, he came to the United States in 1888 and accepted a post as conductor of the Scandinavian Band in Marinette, Wisconsin. Two years later he entered Augsburg College in Minneapolis and then the Northwestern Conservatory of Music. He also studied at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1897 to 1899. In 1903 Christiansen became the head of the music department at St Olaf College and founded the St. Olaf Choir in 1911, remaining its director until 1942. Christiansen’s goal was blending individual voices into a unified sound; he favored a cappella performances and demanded a straight tone, uniform color, fluid technical flexibility, and absolute precision of pitch. He arranged hundreds of Lutheran chorales and Norwegian folk melodies into accessible and effective four-part settings. His St. Olaf Choir series included 216 works in 12 volumes, many of which have become the mainstay of small-town choral literature. He also wrote three cantatas, an oratorio, two pieces for violin, and two collections of organ works.

Suggested Choral Pieces:

  1. Beautiful Savior (Augsburg) 
  2. Lullaby on Christmas Eve (Augsburg 11-0136) 
  3. O Day Full of Grace (Augsburg) 
Posted in: Musical Moments
Tags: Composers from Minnesota • Composers of the Early-Mid 20th Century • Scandinavian Composers • United States Composers

Recent Stories

  • Bridge to the Future Meets Goal March 24, 2023
  • VocalEssence Radio Special—Song of Joy: The Mendelssohns on YourClassical MPR March 24, 2023
  • VocalEssence Singers Of This Age Perform at WCCO Holiday Tree Lighting December 22, 2022
  • VocalEssence Holiday Programming 2022 December 15, 2022
  • Thank you for your support at the VocalEssence 2022 Gala! November 4, 2022

Musical Moments

  • #inspiration
  • 2020
  • Argentinan Composers
  • Australian Composers
  • Basque Composers
  • Black Composers
  • Bradley Greenwald
  • British Composers
  • Canadian Composers
  • choir
  • Clara Osowski
  • Composers from Minnesota
  • Composers of the 17th 18th and 19th Centuries
  • Composers of the Early-Mid 20th Century
  • Composers of the Late 20th-21st Century
  • composing
  • concerts
  • Czech Composers
  • Dan Dressen
  • Dutch Composers
  • Early-mid 20th Century
  • Eastern European Composers
  • French Composers
  • German and Austrian Composers
  • Hungarian Composers
  • Italian Composers
  • Late 20th-21st Century
  • Latin American Composers
  • Maria Jette
  • Mexican composers
  • planning
  • Portuguese Composers
  • repertoire
  • Russian Composers
  • Scandinavian Composers
  • Scottish Composers
  • South American Composers
  • Spanish Composers
  • Swiss Composers
  • United States Composers
  • Women Composers
  • About Us
    • About VocalEssence
    • Press Room
    • Annual Report
    • Financial Information
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • VocalEssence COVID Protocols
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Sing with Us
    • Volunteer
    • Work at VocalEssence
  • Connect
    • Email Sign Up
    • Contact Us/Location
    • Chorus Connection
    • VocalEssence Board Login
  • VocalEssence
  • 1900 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403
  • Phone: 612-547-1451
  • Fax: 612-547-1484
  • info@vocalessence.org
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 VocalEssence. All rights reserved.

https://www.vocalessence.org/f-melius-christiansen-musical-moments-with-philip-brunelle

This website uses cookies for necessary functions and to enhance your browsing experience.

Accept & Continue