Photo by Mark König on Unsplash
The Twin Cities is the unofficial capital of Norwegian America, and our own Dr. Melissa Holm-Johansen, native of Halden, Norway, highlights the unique role music plays in Norwegian culture. We discuss what she misses most about Norway’s music traditions, what sets it apart from the music of other cultures, and the aspects of everyday life that Norwegian music permeates.
Guest
Dr. Melissa Holm-Johansen is a native of Halden, Norway, and is a professional singer and award-winning voice teacher. Melissa majored in both vocal performance and music education at St. Olaf College, and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in vocal pedagogy and performance from the University of Minnesota. She teaches at Shattuck-St. Mary’s Schools and also in her private studio.
Notes
We discuss:
- The Twin Cities’ bond with Norway and the Norwegian representation we have here.
- Main categories of distinctively Norwegian music:
- Patriotic music:
- Sung at sporting events
- Also sung at baptisms, graduations, confirmations
- Folk music:
- Heavily based on dance
- Learned by children in school
- Most are in a minor key
- Lutheran choral music
- Patriotic music:
- The most important Norwegian holidays, and the role music plays in celebrating them, including:
- Constitution Day on May 17: celebration of the signing of the Constitution in 1814
- Midsummer Eve: Longest night of the year/summer solstice
- Christmas Eve
- At family gatherings, they sing! They make physical programs for the event/gathering; personalized lyrics are written to commemorate the occasion or celebrate the guest of honor; the lyrics will be set to a familiar melody so everyone can sing along
- Edvard Grieg and why he is so important in the Norwegian musical canon
- Melissa’s new CD!
Connect/Other Resources
- Melissa’s website
- Norway House: connects the US & contemporary Norway through Arts, Business & Culture
- Norway House’s Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota (EGSMN) promotes the study and performance of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg and his Nordic counterparts.
- Melissa’s new CD, Edvard Grieg: Songs from the Heart: “The Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota is pleased to release the first professional recording of songs by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, sung in English. Melissa and Stephen Swanson, Piano, have captured the essence of the original song and text in these new English translations by celebrated Grieg scholar, Dr. William H. Halverson. The album features 25 of Grieg’s songs, along with a lyric book and notes by Dr. Halverson.”
- Article: Norwegian Immigration in Minnesota
- We reference the beautiful, illustrated book Melissa loaned me, called, Norway Sings: A Collection of Norwegian Folk Music:
- We reference Enhance Life with Music’s first Sound of Your Heritage episode,
Ep. 7: Music’s Role in Jewish Culture & Celebrations, with Hazzan Alissa Pomerantz-Boro - You may also enjoy Ep. 73: Philip Brunelle, Godfather of the Scandinavian Lutheran choral mafia
- Melissa’s upcoming events:
- Handel’s Messiah soloist with Bach Roots, December 17-19, 2021
- Norway House Fundraiser (Grieg: Haugtussa), January 15, 2022
In-Episode Promo
This is a quick break to tell you about Sonix, the service that I use to transcribe these episodes. Sonix is an artificial intelligence transcription service that automatically converts audio and video files to text – and can translate to over 40 languages. I transcribe these episodes to make them more accessible. I tried multiple services, and chose to stick with Sonix because of their accuracy, affordability, and because their site is just so easy to use; that’s a big plus for me, to not need to spend a bunch of time figuring out one more platform! While I love podcasts, I do tend to be a very visual learner. I figure other people probably are, too; and having that written form of your work just makes it more versatile. Sonix transcripts make the most of your hard work and can increase traffic to your site. Sonix is spelled s-o-n-i-x. You can check them out with a free trial PLUS an extra 100 minutes of free transcription by using the link sonix.ai/invite/enhancelife100. There’s a link in the show notes. Again, it’s sonix.ai/invite/enhancelife100 for a free trial AND an extra 100 minutes of free transcription.
Coda
Melissa shares the trailer for her Songs from the Heart album & concert.
Closing Words
Thank you so much to Melissa for sharing that clip with us, for sharing with us today in this episode. Melissa does have a couple concert events coming up – one is this weekend, December 17-19; she will be a soloist for Handel’s Messiah with Bach Roots. She will also be performing at a Norway House event on January 15. These links and links from today’s show – and a transcript of this episode – can be found in the show notes at mpetersonmusic.com/podcast; this is Ep. 117. All links are also in the episode details right in your podcast app. While you’re there, I’d love to hear from you! Tell me how music is enhancing your life. You can reach me on email (mindy@mpetersonmusic.com), Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Thanks so much for joining me today. Until next time, may your life be enhanced with music.
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