James Hicks Nordic Journey

James D. Hicks is a concert organist living and working out of Califon, NJ, USA. A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Yale University, and the University of Cincinnati, Hicks has also studied at the Royal School of Church Music in the UK. James held liturgical positions throughout the USA over the course of thirty-five years and now devotes himself to concert, publishing, and recording projects. 

Over the past fifteen years, James has researched the music of the Nordic lands and the result is an ongoing venture entitled Nordic Journey. The endeavor places emphasis on new music, he has commissioned over seventy compositions from Nordic composers and other musicians in northern Europe, as well as researching repertoire from the past that has hitherto never been recorded or published. With the December 2024 release of Nordic Journey Volume XVII/North Atlantic Voyage, the series now comprises twenty-eight discs, all produced for the American label Pro Organo as well as being distributed by Naxos In America and the usual digital streaming platforms. 

A parallel aspect of the Nordic Journey project is the production of hardbound editions that include premiere publications of many of the works James has commissioned as well as several previously unavailable compositions from earlier eras. The Norwegian firm Cantando released the Nordic Journey Series Volume I in 2018 (now available at Notebutikken.no) and Norsk Musikforlag published The Nordic Journey Series Volume II in 2020). Norsk Musikforlag has most recently produced the third volume in October 2022. A fourth volume of this series is set for a 2025 release.

Upcoming recording projects in 2025 include the double-disc Nordic Journey XVIII /Around The Baltic Sea, a program featuring music from countries bordering that body of water recorded at Central Pori Church in Finland and Nordic Journey Volume XIX, a single-disc endeavor to be recorded on the historic Åkerman organ at Uppsala Cathedral in Sweden. This latter project features an important new commissioned work, A Nordic Organ Book, by contemporary Swedish composer Fredrik Sixten.  

During the COVID-19 pandemic, James wrote the first full-length book devoted to the complete works for organ by Norwegian composer Kjell Mørk Karlsen on the occasion of the artist’s seventy-fifth birthday. He also contributed a chapter to a study of the music of Swedish composer Fredrik Sixten. Norsk Musikforlag published the Karlsen volume in March 2022 and the Sixten project will appear later in 2024. 

In addition to his endeavors concerning the organ and its literature, James is an enthusiastic exponent of traditional music from the British Isles, performing on a number of instruments associated with these traditions. James is an avid hiker and has walked the historic Hadrian’s Wall trail in Northern England as well as traversing numerous sections of the Appalachian Trail in the USA. 

To learn more about James D. Hicks, you are invited to visit his website at www.jamesdhicks.com.

James D. Hicks

James D. Hicks is a native of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and holds degrees in music from the Peabody Institute of Music, Yale University and the University of Cincinnati. Other studies include instruction at the Royal School of Church Music in England. He is an Associate of the American Guild of Organists. Hicks has held liturgical positions throughout the eastern United States and in 2011 retired from a twenty-six-year tenure at The Presbyterian Church in Morristown, New Jersey, the community in which he still resides. 

James Hicks has performed throughout the United States, Australia and Europe. Most recently in July 2013, he was a featured recitalist in several organ series in Finland, including the Helsinki Organ Summer and the Turku Summer Festival. He performed for Swedish National Radio in March 2012, a broadcast that included world premieres of several modern works from that country. He has recorded two collections of organ music on the American Pro Organo label. The first, 2003’s American Classic, highlights the rebuilt Austin organ at The Presbyterian Church in Morristown, New Jersey, and contains many recorded premieres of twentieth and twenty-first century American works, including two original compositions. Hicks traveled to Sweden in 2010 to record a double CD (Nordic Journey, Pro Organo #7239) of Nordic works on the historic Setterquist organ at Linköping Cathedral. This collection includes many unusual works from Nordic lands and a commissioned composition, Variations, by the Nordic cathedral musician Fredrik Sixten. Hicks recorded three separate CDs of Nordic music at the following Swedish venues in August 2013: St. Johannes’ Church, Malmö, Skara Cathedral and Västerås Cathedral. These discs include four commissioned works and the first modern recorded performances of many unpublished, hitherto unknown, compositions from the romantic and modern periods and are due to be released during the first half of 2014. 

In addition to his endeavors in organ literature, Hicks is a student of Celtic music, and has performed extensively throughout the New York metropolitan area on instruments associated with this tradition. He appreciates playing bellows-blown bagpipes, particularly the Border Pipes and Scottish Small Pipes. He plays the Great Highland Bagpipes as well, and competes on the Grade II level in the Eastern United States Pipeband Association’s sponsored Highland Games.  

Situated on the rugged west coast of Norway, the city of Trondheim is the location for one of the most compelling sacred spaces in all of northern Europe. The Nidaros Cathedral, a Romanesque and Gothic structure dating from 1140 is the spiritual heart of Norway, a shrine to St. Olav, and a centuries-old place of pilgrimage. It is also the home of composer and cathedral musician, Fredrik Sixten, a Swedish composer whose liturgical works are quickly garnering international acclaim. Sixten was appointed Domkantor of Nidaros Cathedral on April 1, 2013, and is responsible for conducting the Domkor and Oratoriokor. Prior to this prestigious appointment, Sixten spent twelve years as Cathedral Organist at Härnösand Cathedral, Härnösand, Sweden. Located over two hundred miles north of Stockholm, the university city of Härnösand is situated near the High Coast, a UNESCO-designated area of considerable natural beauty. The cultural and historical features of Härnösand and, now, Trondheim, have been the stage for the creation of a large and fascinating body of new compositions for the church by Fredrik Sixten. On the occasion of the composer’s fiftieth birthday in October 2012, I had the privilege of interviewing this musician about his life’s work thus far. This essay seeks to provide an introduction to Sixten’s life and career as well as identifying and briefly describing his many contributions to the contemporary organ repertoire. 

The son of a Lutheran pastor, Fredrik Sixten was born in Skövde, Sweden on October 21, 1962. Sven Sixten was a vital influence on the composer’s life from his earliest years and, perhaps, an initial source for Fredrik’s emerging creativity. The younger Sixten’s Epilogue for violoncello and piano (published by Gehrmans Musikförlag-GE11353) dating from 2001, is an eloquent testimonial to the composer’s father upon the latter’s death. Sven Sixten was a respected author of poetry, contemporary commentary for a wide variety of publications and novels, as well as serving as a priest at the Lutheran church in Fristad. It was this heritage that brought Fredrik into the musical world of the church. From a young age, he sang in choirs, participated in the life of the church, and displayed a precocious fascination with musical scores, spending countless hours copying diverse compositions without knowing how they sounded. Piano study ensued at age ten and, eventually, organ as well. 

As the aspiring musician reached adolescence, Sixten’s musical passions extended to other means of expression. Teaching himself to play guitar and drums, he formed a rock band called Birka, the original name of Stockholm, and the group covered many of the pop songs of the 1960s and 1970s as well as writing original material. Sixten cites the horn arrangements found in such works as the early albums of Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears, as well as other jazz-rock fusion groups as a necessary balance to his primary tuition in classical music. He believes that his mature compositions would not have the same character now without these contradictory influences. 

Sixten enrolled in the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm at the age of eighteen. The diverse cultural opportunities available in the capital city, regular practice on some of the important organs there, including the instrument at the Hedvig Eleonora church, and private lessons in composition with the acclaimed composer Sven-David Sandstrom, were crucial influences in Sixten’s artistic development. In addition, Sixten cites the mentorship of Professor of Piano Eva Luthander, who encouraged him to perform his original compositions, including, for example, an early work, Sonata for Violoncello and Piano for a jury examination. 

After five years of study, Sixten began his career in church music, serving first as assistant organist at Västerås Cathedral from 1986–1991. He proceeded to serve as organist at Vänersborg Church from 1991–2001 and as artistic director of the Gothenburg Boys Choir from 1997–2001. His 2001 appointment as cathedral organist in Härnösand proved to be critical to Sixten’s development as a composer. Whereas he previously had insufficient time for composing, it was this fortuitous opportunity at Härnösand that allowed Sixten the requisite time to follow his own creative path. The cathedral authorities encouraged him to provide new works for this community of faith as a part of his ministry. The impressive number of large-scale choral works conceived during these years includes 2004’s St. Mark Passion (the first Swedish-language Passion setting), 2007’s Requiem, and 2009’s Christmas Oratorio. A host of smaller works for “everyday use” attests to the possibilities inherent in this situation. 

Evidence of Sixten’s mature style became apparent with this prodigious output. The composer cites “the usual suspects” with Bach, Brahms, Prokofiev, Poulenc and, particularly, Duruflé as role models. He has also mentioned the melancholy demeanor of Swedish folk music as the essential component of his music. In addition, Sixten’s penchant for pop music, previously mentioned as an interest in his formative years, finds expression in the music of Prince. Going beyond Prince’s more popular discs such as Purple Rain, Sixten appreciates, instead, the American musician’s more experimental recordings as a vital influence. Sixten claims that Prince often “challenges the listener,” and is not afraid to make “ugly, strange sounds.” A final sphere of influence belongs to American music’s most characteristic indigenous forms: blues and jazz. Sixten often borrows from the modal characteristics of the former and the rhythmic syncopation and harmonies of the latter. 

It is this diversity of experience that leads Fredrik Sixten to state that “there is no single organ style that can adequately interpret his music.“ He attempts to be “a citizen of the world.” An authentic series of recordings of his complete organ music “would require the use of several contrasting instruments.”

More can be learned about the music of Fredrik Sixten at his website:

www.fredriksixten.com

 

The Organ Works of Fredrik Sixten, 1981–2013

 

Three Chorale Preludes:

Härlig är jorden (1981) 

Wachet Auf (1983)

Jesus, Du Mitt Hjärtas Längtan (1983)

The first work of this set appears in the anthology Lux Aeterna (Gehrmans Musikförlag GE 6713) and uses a melody that American musicians will recognize as Fairest Lord Jesus, while the second and third compositions are available from the composer at his website. 

These early essays are meant as postludes rather than serving as introductions to congregational singing. The direct nature of these pieces bears comparison to some of the preludes of American composer Paul Manz, although the virtuosic nature and intense chromaticism of the third prelude betrays the influence of the German Romantic master Max Reger. 

 

Festmarsch (1983)

This occasional piece, composed as a march for a friend’s wedding, is unpublished but available from the composer at his website. 

Although an early work, Festmarsch demonstrates the composer’s willingness to go beyond a normal commission. This “occasional piece” bears little resemblance to normal wedding fare such as Clarke and Purcell. Sixten, at the bride-to-be’s request, instead wrote a work in mixed meters that employs thickly textured chords and a light, scherzo character, giving this composition as the composer states, “a circus-like attitude.” 

 

Prelude et Fugue (1986)

This composition was published by Wessmans Musikförlag (#200768).

“The culmination of my student experiences,” Prelude et Fugue was composed in 1986 as an act of homage to Maurice Duruflé upon the occasion of the death of the French master. The spirit of Duruflé certainly informs the Prelude in its warm harmonies, chant-influence melodies and scintillating rhythms. The introspective, angular fugal subject gives way to an animated second section and triumphant conclusion. Sixten considers this his “first mature work” and it has gained popularity with organists throughout the world. It is an ideal introduction to his music.

 

Toccata Festival (1996)

Toccata Festival was published by Gerhmans Musikförlag and originally appeared in the anthology Jubilate (CG 7352). Gerhmans published it separately in 2008 (GE 11162), given this composition’s positive reception. It is dedicated to Claes Holmgren, organist of Visby Cathedral on the island of Gotland, Sweden.

This short fanfare is another composition that, like the Prelude and Fugue could be a newcomer’s entry into Sixten’s music. Two versions of Toccata Festival exist. The published version meets the requirements of Jubilate, being written for “organists of average ability,” while the composer originally created a version whose second section is of some greater technical challenge. 

This three-part work is a fine example of Sixten’s usage of “blue notes” (Example 1). Toccata Festival’s three pages offer a brief summation of Sixten’s approach.

 

Missa Mariae (1998)

Missa Mariae is a five-movement composition (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei) that was commissioned by Visby Cathedral Parish in 1998, and premiered by cathedral organist Claes Holmgren. This work remains unpublished but is available from the composer at his website.

Missa Mariae is intended for liturgical use, functioning as an organ Mass. Each movement relates to a Biblical quote concerning the Virgin Mary:

Kyrie—And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” (Luke 1:30)

Gloria—My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. (Luke 1:46-47)

Credo—And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me

According to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

Sanctus—For he who is mighty has done great things for me. (Luke 1:49)

Agnus Dei—And she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women,

And blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Luke 1:42)

Although often lyric in its expression, this Mass represents a marked shift in Sixten’s development, containing some of his most pungent, astringent writing.

 

Triptyk (2000, 2002, revised 2004)

Triptyk, as its title indicates, is a three-movement work based on the Trinity. It was commissioned by Holy Trinity Church, Gävle, Sweden, and premiered by that church’s organist, Per Ahlman. 

Triptyk’s movements are

I—Prelude: The Holy Father

II—Hymn: The Son

III—Toccata: The Holy Ghost

Triptyk was published by Gehrmans Musikförlag (GE 11241) in 2008.

This composition evolved over the course of several years, beginning with the second movement, composed while Sixten was still working in Gothenburg. Hymn is a set of variations on a Swedish hymn, Christ Who Art the Light, and is a movement the composer still “holds very dear.” Sixten indicates that this movement may be performed as an independent composition. The first movement finds much of its thematic interest on the Gloria in excelsis chant while the concluding Toccata is based on the chant Veni Sancte Spiritus.

 

Messa Misteriosa (2002, revised 2008)

Preludio

Kyrie

Gloria

Credo

Sanctus

Agnus Dei

Communio

Postludio

Messa Misteriosa, excepting the final two movements, Communio and Postludio (published Gehrmans Musikförlag- GE 11243 and 11244), is unpublished and available at the composer’s website. 

This composition was another commission from Visby Cathedral as a part of its 2002 International Organ Festival. The composer premiered Messa Misteriosa.

Messa Misteriosa, as was the case with Missa Mariae, was composed to accompany the Swedish liturgy. The Mass takes its impetus from the melodies that are currently sung in the worship life of the Church of Sweden. The title reflects the composer’s desire to return the worshiper to the inexplicable mystery of the sacraments. There is a dichotomy to this music as each movement celebrates the Good News of Jesus Christ, yet is at the same time mindful of the Savior’s ultimate sacrifice. Although it celebrates an ancient tradition, Messa Misteriosa is the composer’s closest embrace of a post-modern sensibility. It is replete with dense harmonies, tone clusters and unpredictable textures, all working within a colorful palette of sound. Sixten lists such diverse influences as blues (Kyrie), Swedish folk music, and contemporary French harmonies alongside the pervasive Swedish liturgical melodies as appearing in this sprawling work. The final movement, Postludio, seems to have, according to Sixten, a humorous, almost ironic means of expression.

 

Arioso (1998)

Arioso was commissioned for the Swedish collection “Lux Aeterna II” (Gehrmanns SKG 10059). It is a melancholy bagatelle of two pages that within only a few measures amply displays Sixten’s lyric gifts.

 

Mourning Blues (2006)

Mourning Blues was published in 2007 by Wessmans Musikförlag (#200742) and premiered by the composer at the Holy Trinity Church, Gävle, Sweden.

Mourning Blues is another example of the composer working within different styles. Sixten creates a work using a blues scale, yet harmonically is “combined with other influences such as French Romanticism.” There are frequent alternations of mood in this brief movement. Lyricism and bombast are juxtaposed in Mourning Blues as the work unfolds. Sixten concludes the composition with a chord that contains both major and minor thirds. Sixten states that this kind of a chord with both thirds plus a minor seventh is his “favorite chord,” and one that regularly appears in his music.

 

Organ Sonata (2006)

Organ Sonata was published in 2008 by Gehrmans Musikförlag (GE 11240).

This composition was a third commission from Visby Cathedral Parish, premiered in December 2006 by the composer at the Excelsior festival of liturgical music. This was Sixten’s effort at creating a “contemporary interpretation of sonata form.” It contains four movements:

I—Maestoso (ma non troppo lento)

Composed in “Swedish Romantic style with influence from Otto Olsson.”

II—Scherzo

Contains thematic influence from the Swedish folksong tradition. 

III—Adagio

A movement whose mysticism is reminiscent of contemporary French style.

IV—Finale

A movement that could be performed separately, it is a brilliant “mixed-bag”: a Rondo containing a scherzo, a fugal section, and many points of imitation, all brilliantly concluding in a virtuoso coda. 

 

Tango över Psalm 303 (2006)

Non-Swedish musicians should be aware that “Psalm” denotes a hymn from the Swedish hymnbook rather than a passage from the Old Testament.

Gehrmans Musikförlag published this composition in 2007 (GE 11017). 

Composed on a trip to Milan, Italy, this remains one of Sixten’s most often-performed organ compositions. It is based on a Swedish hymn that originally was a Nordic folk song (Det Finns en Väg Till Himmelen, sv. Ps 303). The composer says his intent was to “marry a serious, melancholic dance with a correspondingly serious Swedish tune,” producing a hybrid that has all of the rhythmic qualities of dance, yet retains the modality of Nordic music (Example 2). 

 

Hymn (2006)

Gehrmans Musikförlag published this composition in 2007 (GE 11168).

Sixten composed Hymn at the same time as Tango över Psalm 303. It is a lyric meditation based on an original theme and harmonically romantic in style. 

 

Allegro Festivo (2007)

Gehrmans Musikförlag published this composition in 2008 (GE 11242).

This is another “occasional piece,” composed for the wedding of some colleagues on the staff at Härnösand Cathedral. The couple was interested in choosing new music to celebrate their nuptials. 

 

Variations for Organ (2008)

Variations for Organ was commissioned and premiered by James D. Hicks at Princeton University Chapel in March 2010. It was published by Gehrmans Musikförlag (GE11636) in 2010.

The theme upon which this composition is based is a Swedish folk song entitled Visa från Åhl (Song from Åhl). This theme comes from the quintessentially Swedish province of Dalarna, and its A-minor tonality is redolent of the folk music of that part of the country. Intended for the myriad colors possible on a large, symphonic instrument, each of the eleven variations possesses a distinct identity. The contrasting movements include a section for double pedals, a scherzo, varying contrapuntal techniques, tender adagios, and a fugue (which the composer describes as “a three-part canon”), all of which are concluded by a toccata. The composer considers this to be his favorite of all of his organ works.

 

Passacaglia (2011)

Passacaglia was commissioned and premiered by James D. Hicks in February 2012 at Princeton University Chapel. It was published by Gehrmans Musikförlag (GE 12115) in 2012.

When commencing work on this composition, Sixten searched for new ideas in presenting a form “overloaded by tradition.” The work is described by the composer as “his most difficult creation in a technical sense” and is music of tremendous impact and scope. After a turbulent, Regerian introduction, Sixten introduces the passacaglia theme in an unusual way by placing it in the treble register, rather than the more usual pedals (Example 3). The theme appears in various registers as the composition ensues, but still always functions as a bass line. Sixten guides this theme through a highly diverse set of variations and increasing tension, all culminating in a final statement that combines a Swedish folk song with the passacaglia melody. 

 

Toccata & Fugue on B-A-C-H (2012)

Toccata & Fugue on B-A-C-H was commissioned and premiered by Lars Fredriksson in September 2012 upon the occasion of the dedication of the new choir organ at Härnösand Cathedral. 

Toccata & Fugue on B-A-C-H was published by Gehrmans Musikförlag (GE 12277) in 2013. It was nominated for best new chamber work by the Swedish Music Publishers Association.

Toccata & Fugue on B-A-C-H, as with so many compositions based upon this time-honored motive, employs the notes B-flat, A, C, B-natural as the foundation of a composition. Sixten goes a step further in homage to J.S. Bach by opening his Toccata in much the same fashion as in the older master’s famed BWV 565. The BACH motive permeates every fiber of the composition, and the following double fugue is effective in contrasting the two subjects. 

 

Lamentation (2012)

Lamentation was commissioned by James D. Hicks and premiered in July 2013 at the Turku Cathedral Summer Festival, Turku, Finland. At the time of the publication of this article, it was still in manuscript form. As a part of the commission, the composer used a medieval Norwegian folk tune for the composition’s foundation. The ensuing work is music of great pathos and anguish, one of Sixten’s most expressive creations.

James D. Hicks

Blessed with a natural environment of stunning, rugged beauty and a culture rich in poetic expression, Norway is also celebrated for its musical heritage. A country that could produce a composer of the stature of Edvard Grieg can also claim composers who have made a significant contribution to the repertoire for the organ. A vibrant school of new music flourishes in Norway, and the Oslo-based composer Kjell Mørk Karlsen has fashioned a diverse and notable body of work over the course of a distinguished career. Karlsen is a prolific artist whose output includes ten orchestral symphonies and eleven oratorios, along with numerous cantatas, concertos, and chamber music. Creating new music for the organ has been an ongoing feature of his endeavors, and I recently had an opportunity to discuss this fascinating topic with the composer while on a concert tour in Scandinavia. All of the information in this article stems from an interview I conducted with the composer in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 10, 2014. 

Raised in a home “filled with music,” the Oslo-bred composer was born into a family of artists in 1947. Considering the many creative gifts of his family, it was a natural choice for Kjell Mørk Karlsen to follow the path of a professional musician. Although his mother was a fine violinist and his brother an enthusiastic flutist, it was his father, Rolf Karlsen, who provided the impetus for a career in music. The elder Karlsen (1911–82) was an essential figure in the musical life of twentieth-century Norway. A brilliant pianist, organist, conductor, and composer, Rolf Karlsen served as organist and director of music at Oslo Cathedral. Rolf also taught at the Oslo Music Conservatory and worked as a keyboard musician with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Rolf was recognized as a master sightreader, able to condense and realize the contents of the most complex orchestral scores on a moment’s notice. He was, in addition, a pioneer in introducing music from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque periods to the cultural life of Norway, having studied medieval music in Belgium and harpsichord in Basel, Switzerland. Rolf Karlsen was a leading member of Musica Sacra, a movement that strove to restore the primacy of chant within the liturgy, reintroduce the chorale heritage from the Reformation, support new works based upon these ancient themes, and encourage the building of organs influenced by the Orgelbewegung (Organ Reform Movement). Karlsen’s compositions show a preference for the use of historical forms, and his organ variations on Vår Gud han er så fast en borg (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God) is a representative example of his style (found in Tibi Laus, published by Norsk Musikforlag, N.B.O 9599).

The versatility that informed Rolf’s career served as a role model to his son Kjell. Kjell’s musical studies began at age seven when his father bought him a baroque recorder. As a child he studied this instrument so seriously that he eventually took a diploma in recorder from the Oslo Conservatory at age twenty-one. At age eleven, Kjell’s brother, an aspiring flutist, suggested that Kjell take up the oboe as the two instruments might sound well together. Kjell’s education in oboe progressed quickly; he studied with the principal oboist of the Oslo Philharmonic. Karlsen’s affinity for the oboe made it an important means of expression during his student years. He earned a diploma in oboe from the Oslo Conservatory during the same year as he did with the recorder and became proficient enough to be an oboist with the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra. His experience with the orchestra gave him insight into the creation and performance of dramatic music. Working within an orchestral milieu was a formative experience in preparation for the composing of the large-scale works of his maturity.

After witnessing his father conduct a performance of J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, the younger Karlsen was so moved by this presentation to begin study of keyboard instruments as a logical next step. As with the recorder and oboe, Kjell’s rapid proficiency with the piano and organ was astounding. By age nineteen he became keyboard musician with the Oslo Philharmonic and gained additional ensemble performance to complement his work as an oboist. Karlsen points to the crucial experience this position afforded him in his later development as a composer. He particularly cites the opportunity of performing works by Stravinsky, Bartók, and other twentieth-century masters as a significant aspect of his education. These performances provided an opportunity to learn about American music as well; he participated in several concerts devoted to the works of Lukas Foss. Karlsen eventually took a diploma in organ from the Oslo Conservatory in 1968, serving as organist for the Sølvguttene (Norwegian Broadcasting Boy’s Choir) and at the Greverud, Oppegård from 1967 to 1973. Karlsen pursued independent study with the noted Danish organist Finn Viderø and spent the academic year 1980–81 commuting to Copenhagen for lessons. The study of Bach and Buxtehude was the focus of his work with Viderø, and Karlsen remembers Viderø’s emphasis on “lively, rhythmic playing and detached touch.”

Given Karlsen’s long experience with the baroque recorder and his father’s enthusiasm for early music, it seemed like a natural progression for Kjell to organize an ensemble dedicated to historically informed performances of this repertoire. Karlsen formed his own group, Pro Musica Antiqua, and served as its first director from 1969 to 1974. Playing a wide variety of instruments, including krummhorns, shawms, and recorders, Karlsen did much to introduce the unique sounds of the medieval and Renaissance repertoire to Norwegian audiences. 

Karlsen’s diverse musical activities caught the attention of Norwegian universities and the national church. He began his academic career during the 1970s, lecturing at the Oslo Conservatory, the Norwegian Academy of Music, and the Rogaland Music Conservatory. As his career unfolded, Karlsen also found success as a church musician. He served as organist at Tønsberg Cathedral from 1973 to 1978, Stavanger Cathedral from 1978 to 1981, Sør-Fron, Gudbrandsdalen from 1981 to 1989, Slemmestad Kirke from 1990 to 1995, and Asker Kirke from 1995 to 2011. During this period, he was active as a concert organist, performing throughout Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. 

Karlsen summarizes his duties as cathedral organist at Stavanger Cathedral:

–play one hundred services annually

–direct four choirs (adult Oratorio Choir, Boys Choir, Girls Choir, Children’s Choir) 

–play the cathedral carillon daily for twenty minutes

–play weekly Saturday organ concerts

–play (on average) six to eight weddings per weekend

–conduct oratorio performances

–serve as organ consultant for the region.

Parallel to his work in what was an intense and varied career in performance, Karlsen’s abilities as a composer became equally known throughout northern Europe. His training in composition dates to his formative years, complementing his accomplishments as a gifted instrumentalist and performer. While he was a teenager, Karlsen’s father gave him an ongoing assignment. At this time during the 1960s, the Norwegian National Church discouraged the singing of repertoire from the Reformation and Baroque periods in Latin or German, preferring Norwegian translations instead of the original texts. Kjell’s task, beginning at age fourteen, was to copy by hand full scores by such composers as Scheidt, Praetorius, and Schütz, and set Norwegian words in place of the languages these composers originally used. Kjell continued this laborious process of copying music by hand as he progressed to editing his father’s original scores, producing final copies for publication. As the composer recollects, “This for me was a great school as a composer because I came very close to all sorts of techniques that were used in this era. For a composer, this exercise was a basic way to become acquainted with polyphony, harmony, how to set texts, and so on.” 

During Karlsen’s time as a cathedral musician in the 1970s, he created a large body of organ and choral works that were intended for use within the many events he supervised. The influence of the German neo-classicists from earlier in the twentieth century, such composers as Hans Friedrich Micheelsen, Hugo Distler, and Helmut Bornfeld, pervades the many hymn-based partitas and other works of this time. The consistent use of quartal and quintal harmonies and preference for the use of traditional forms were recurring features of many of these compositions. A typical example of Karlsen’s early period may be found in a work dating from 1969 (Example 1), Partita Over Koralen ‘Nu Kjære Menige Kristenhet,’ op. 8 (best known to English-speaking musicians as “Dear Christians, One And All, Rejoice”). 

Karlsen’s interpretation of gebrauchs-musik, or music for practical use, informs much of his output from the 1970s. An excerpt (Example 2) from his Partita: ‘Se solens skønne lys og prakt’ (“See The Sun’s Beautiful Light And Splendor”) demonstrates Karlsen’s wish to provide accessible music, and, as he has described, “these sort of compositions come from my duties as a cathedral organist.” The late 1970s also witnessed the composer’s increased preoccupation with the possibilities inherent in Gregorian themes (Example 3) in which motives from the chant permeate the entire fabric of the work as seen in op. 51’s Toccata Over Te Deum. 

By the early 1980s and after years of coping with an increasingly demanding schedule, Karlsen yearned for the opportunity to further explore his interest in then-current styles of contemporary music. He became fascinated with musical expression that often existed outside the relatively narrow confines of music for the Lutheran Church. It was at this juncture that he began to study the works of the Finnish composer Joonas Kokkonen. On the encouragement of colleagues in the Norwegian State Academy of Music and funded by the Norwegian government, Karlsen uprooted his family and career, moving to Helsinki for a year’s sabbatical of study with Kokkonen. Karlsen spent the better part of 1983–84 studying the Nordic symphonic tradition with the Finnish master. The result of this experience saw the inclusion of serial techniques within his larger-scale compositions. It was during this period that Karlsen wrote his first three orchestral symphonies and a host of chamber and symphonic works, including string quartets, concertos, and sonatas for diverse orchestral instruments. Karlsen regards this period of work with Kokonnen and the immediate years following as “the turning point of my life.” 

Abandoning the pattern of creating scores for immediate use in the service of the church, the act of composing took on a different frame of reference for this musician. As Karlsen explained, “Kokkonen taught me to think more symphonically. Whereas my earlier style had been oriented toward German neo-classicism and church music, now I learned more about Sibelius and Russian composers such as Shostakovich and others.” The years of the 1980s and 1990s eventually saw the composer move away from primarily providing “practical music for immediate use” and, instead, creating large-scale works that achieved an enhanced formal and thematic unity. The composer thinks this development brought him back “full circle when remembering the symphonic performing experiences of my youth.” Following Karlsen’s Finnish sojourn, his compositions became more ambitious in length and scope. “My first great organ work was the Symphony I, op. 99, commissioned by Stavanger Cathedral in 1991 on the occasion of the installation of a new organ. I had already composed three orchestral symphonies, so why not one for the organ?” 

After a decade of writing little for the organ, Karlsen’s new direction became readily apparent in this three-movement, seventeen-minute work. A new sense of harmonic astringency, and a more evolved, virtuosic approach to the instrument distinguishes his op. 99. Karlsen’s rather personal approach to serialism may be discerned in this composition’s second movement (Example 4). The composer explains: “If you look at the first six measures of the second movement, you will find all twelve tones in the left hand. I am not, however, so strict with this system. It might be more accurate to call this a kind of free-tonal style.”

As the 1990s progressed, the austerity found in much of the music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt provided a balance to the complexity of Karlsen’s mature works. Karlsen points to his St. John Passion (1991) as an example of this reconciliation between contemporary and more traditional means of expression. This feeling of, as he describes it, “going back and forth, two steps forward and one step back,” is in an ongoing tension between simplicity and complexity that has characterized his works to the present.

When evaluating the mature style of Kjell Mørk Karlsen, perhaps the most salient aspect of his work is the composer’s increasing identity as a specifically Nordic composer. Possessing a keen appreciation for the history and folk culture of his country and other Nordic lands, Karlsen has infused many of his works with the unique characteristics of Scandinavian music. The Sinfonia Arctandriae-Orgelsymfoni nr. 2 (Icelandic Symphony) begins with the use of Tvisöngur, a type of Icelandic folk music sung in parallel fifths (Example 5). All of the titles of this work are connected with the traditions of medieval Iceland. The influence of Nordic folk tradition is apparent in the Suite for orgel og spelemennslag (Suite for organ and folk music violins), op. 89 (Example 6); the third movement develops motives from Hardanger fiddle music. Norwegian medieval folk ballads (Draumkvedet or The Dream Song) serve as the inspiration of Sinfonia Norvegica (Symphony IV). Example 7 shows Karlsen’s depiction of the ballade text (“The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide”) by the weighting of three upper-range tones to depict the ever-shining moonlight. 

A crucial aspect of Karlsen’s identity as a Nordic composer is his ongoing devotion to the cult of the Norwegian medieval saint, St. Olav. His newest major work for organ, the epic five-movement Sinfonia Grande, op. 170 (2013), derives its themes from the chants associated with the St. Olav liturgy. When asked about the relationship between his music and the cult of St. Olav, Karlsen relates:

 

All Norwegians know about St. Olav. When I was young and played the oboe, every summer I traveled to the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. Every year I played in the performance of an oratorio composed and conducted by the cathedral organist Ludvig Nielsen that used the melodies of the St. Olav liturgy. These melodies, therefore, have been with me a long time. The St. Olav liturgical music is the only medieval Norwegian chant in Gregorian style that we know today. I tried to infuse the timeless qualities of this music within my new Sinfonia Grande. 

Kjell Mørk Karlsen remains prolific in his output. The year 2015 finds him working on his next major project, a symphony for organ, strings, and bells (the latter requiring five players, employing handbells, chimes, glockenspiels, and related instruments) being composed for the intended 2017 installation of a new organ at the northern Norwegian cathedral at Tromsø. He is also working on an a cappella setting of the St. Matthew Passion, a project that will complete his setting of the four gospel accounts. 

Kjell Mørk Karlsen concludes:

 

It is important for me to bring elements from the entirety of music history into my work. I have such a profound respect for my predecessors, and wish to be remembered as following in their footsteps. For me contemporary music can be modern or it can be conservative. What is important is that it be personal and have an individual spirit. Without this, it is nothing.

 

 

Compositions of Kjell Mњrk Karlsen

All works published by Norsk Musikforlag a/s, except as noted

 

Works for organ with instruments

Opus

7.2 Short Chorale Partita for alto recorder and harpsichord (organ), 1975 

7.3 Partita on a folk tune from Lom (Norway) for flute and organ (piano), 1981

7.4 Sonatine on a folk tune from Etne (Norway) for flute and piano (organ), 1991

13.1 Choralsonata no. 1 ‘Jesus Christus, unser Heiland’ for alto recorder (flute) and harpsichord (organ), 1969

13.2 Choralsonata no. 2 ‘Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir’ for cello (bassoon) and harpsichord (organ), 1971

13.3 Choralsonata no. 3 ‘Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein’ for trumpet and organ, 1972

28 Concerto for organ, 9 brass instruments, and percussion, 1973/86

28B Version for organ and symphonic band, 1973/86 (manuscript only, at the National Library of Norway, Oslo) 

35.1 4 Norwegian folk tunes arranged for violin, cello, and organ, 1976 (Norske Komponisters Forlag)

36.1 3 choral intradas for organ and 4 brass instruments (2 trumpets, 2 trombones, or 2 trumpets, horn, and trombone), 1975

36.2 “Intrata festivo” for organ, 4 trumpets, and timpani, 2009 (manuscript only, at the National Library of Norway, Oslo)

51.2 Mass on Norwegian folktunes for organ and 6 brass instruments, ad. lib., 1979

87 Missa da tromba for trumpet and organ, 1988

89 Suite for organ and folk-music violins, 1992

94 Sonata da chiesa per tromba et organo, 1989 (Noton)

129 “Triptykon” for organ and 3 percussion players (33 percussion instruments), 1999 (manuscript only, at the National Library of Norway, Oslo)

161 “Concerto pour Orgue et Cordes,” 2008 (manuscript only, at the National Library of Norway, Oslo) 

164 Liturgic suite for organ and ten brass instruments, 2010

164B Miserere (Sarabande) for trumpet and organ (from Liturgic Suite)

176 “Hymn for St. Olaf” for violin, oboe, and organ, 2014 (manuscript only, at the National Library of Norway, Oslo)

 

Works for organ (1967–2014)

Opus

2 Ten chorale preludes, Book 1, 1967; Book 2, 1969 (Lyches Musikkforlag)

8 Partita Over Koralen ‘Nu kjære menige kristenhet,’ 1969 

14 Magnificat noni toni (with liturgic song ad lib.), 1969  

20.1 Six partitas on Norwegian folk tunes, 1968–71 

20.2 Four organ partitas on Norwegian religious folk tunes, 1974–78

26 Variations on an organ tablature from 1448, 1973 

33 Te Deum for organ, 1975

43 Twenty-one easy preludes on Norwegian folk tunes, 1977 

47 Twelve improvisations on Gregorian melodies, 1972–80  

51.1 Organ Mass on Gregorian melodies, 1977–82

51.2 Mass on Norwegian folk tunes, 1979 (with brass sextet, ad.lib.)

81 Six pieces for organ, 1973–87 

99 Organ Symphony No. 1, 1991

105 Sinfonia Arctandria (Organ Symphony No. 2), 1991/93 

116 Sinfonia Antiqua (Organ Symphony No. 3), 1996 

121 Christus-Meditationen für Orgel, 1997 

124 ‘Esto mihi’–6 liturgic organ pieces, 1998 (Cantando Musikkforlag)

134b Organ meditations for Good Friday, 2013 (Cantando Musikkforlag)

142.2 In nativitatem Domini,’ 7 Organ Meditations, 2005

143 Sonata ‘De profundis,’ 2003

148 ‘Et lite barn så lystelig,’ Christmas music on Norwegian folk tunes, 2005

155 Offenbarungs-Meditationen, Åpenbaringmeditasjoner für Orgel, 2006 

157 Sinfonia Norvegica (Organ Symphony No. 4), 2007 

167 Luther Mass for organ, 2011 (with liturgic song, ad lib.)

171 Sinfonia Grande (Organ Symphony No. 5), 2014 

171. 2 Toccata grande II, 2014