Carl Nielsen
Tre Motetter, opus 55
Three Motets, Opus 55
Opus 55
CNW Coll. 24
CNUCarl Nielsen Udgaven (The Carl Nielsen Edition. Royal Danish Library: Copenhagen 1998–2009) III/6, 297–299
CNSCarl Nielsens Samling (The Carl Nielsen Collection, Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen) 308
FSDan Fog & Torben Schousboe: Carl Nielsen kompositioner. En Bibliografi. København 1965. 139
Composition: 1929.
Already in late 1928, Nielsen thought of writing pieces for a cappella choir. The actual work on Tre Motetter lasted from the beginning of April 1929 until the fair copy was ready in the middle of August that year. In this period, Nielsen studied vocal polyphonic works of Renaissance composers. Nielsen thought highly of his Tre Motetter, both in terms of the finished product and as a compositional process. His point of departure was the fundamental moods of the Biblical texts, and only later did he choose the vocal texts. The motets were dedicated to and later performed by the Palestrina Choir and its conductor Mogens Wöldike.
Score, draft
Score, autograph, fair copy
Score, print
Letters:
Diary entries:
Mogens Wöldike: 'Carl Nielsens motetter'. Dansk Musiktidsskrift, 7/1, Jan. 1932, pp. 33–34.
Søren Sørensen: 'Korværkerne', in: Jürgen Balzer (ed.): Carl Nielsen: i hundredåret for hans fødsel (Nyt Nordisk Forlag Arnold Busck: Copenhagen 1965), pp. 97–109.
Søren Sørensen: 'The Choral Works', in: Jürgen Balzer (ed.): Carl Nielsen Centenary Essays (Nyt Nordisk Forlag Arnold Busck: Copenhagen 1965), pp. 103–15.
David Reinhardt Docter: Choral Music in Denmark, 1900–1960: Repertory and Stylistic Trends. University of Minnesota: 1976. Ph.D. dissertation.
Thomas Bradley Krenek: An Examination and Analysis of the Choral Music of Carl Nielsen. University of Cincinnati: 1984. DMA dissertation.
Henrik Palsmar: 'Nielsens Tre Motetter – et bud på en 7. symfoni?'. Dansk Musik Tidsskrift, 84, June 2010, pp. 29–33.
Last changed 2022-12-02 by MerMEId