Danish Classical Music
The publication series Danish Classical Music (DCM) aims to make Danish musical heritage accessible for musicians and researchers in Denmark and abroad by providing reliable and meticulous practical – scholarly music editions. The ambition is thus to take over the baton from the Danish Centre for Music Publication which operated as a research centre under the Royal Library from 2009 to 2019. The centre published practical – scholarly editions of high philological quality, and since the closure of the centre, this task has not been undertaken –but the need has not diminished.
While the Danish Centre for Music Publication functioned as a centre with dedicated employees, the conditions for the new DCM are different: it comprises of independent projects funded individually under the DCM framework. Therefore, a new set of editorial guidelines has not been developed – instead, the guidelines formulated by the Danish Centre for Music Publication are being sustained. The only changes to the guidelines relate to layout, and in DCM publications a brief biographical introduction of the composer is added.
The editorial guidelines ensure a high and consistent level of philological quality in the publications, and the fundamental editorial approach can be summarized in a few key points.
On “practical – scholarly editions”
The term “practical – scholarly editions” refers to the aim of making the publications practically useful for musicians without requiring them to engage directly with the editor’s work and philological considerations. The sheet music is therefore “clean”, without footnotes or similar additions. At the same time, the publications are scholarly in nature, as interested readers can find the necessary information about the philological work in sections placed before and after the sheet music: Prior to the sheet music, there is an introduction to the work, its genesis and reception history, as well as general comments on the philological work (such as specific challenges or choices). After the sheet music, a thorough description of sources and an overview of editorial changes, their justification based on the sources, and information about variants are presented.
On the role of the editor
As James Grier writes in his book The Critical Editing of Music from 1996, all philological work is also an act of interpretation, ideally based on thorough, critical, and historically grounded studies of the source material. The notion that the scholarly edition presents the “only correct” version of a work is a fiction: Editors often arrive at varying interpretations of a piece, and equally compelling arguments can often be made for different readings. Therefore, it is important to clarify the rationale behind each choice in the overview of editorial revisions.
The series avoids so – called “eclectic” editions, which involve a mixture of different sources and may result in a version of the work that never existed in the composer’s hand. Therefore, a primary source is always determined as the basis for the edition, while variants can be used as evidence for correcting clear errors.
Thomas Husted Kirkegaard, Ph.D
Biografi
Hilda Sehested blev den 27. april 1858 født ind i en adelig familie på herregården Broholm på Fyn og døde 15. april 1936 i København.
Som del af den almene dannelse, som kvinder fra Sehesteds socialklasse var pålagt, blev hun som barn undervist i klaver og musikteori. Sehested gik ikke på konservatoriet, men hun begyndte at modtage privatundervisning i klaver hos komponisten C.F.E. Horneman som 15-årig i 1873. Fra 1886 studerede hun komposition privat hos Orla Rosenhoff.
Sehested udtrykte en trang til at frigøre sig fra sin hjemegn og sine selskabelige pligter på Broholm og flytede i 1892 til København. Der var hun tætere på musiklivet i hovedstaden og ligesindede, aspirerende musikere og komponister.
Sehested blev forlovet med arkæologen Henry Petersen, som dog døde kort før deres planlagte bryllup i 1896. Efter dete stoppede hun både med undervisningen hos Rosenhoff og med at komponere. I de efterfølgende år forsøgte hun at finde en ny vej i livet og uddannede sig som organist. Hun fik sit afgangsbevis i 1899, men vides ikke at have haft embede som organist efterfølgende.
Først i 1900 vendte hun tilbage til sin gamle musikalske omgangskreds og begyndte igen at komponere og udgive musik. I 1903 udgav hun værkerne Klaversonate i As-dur og Intermezzi for violin, cello og klaver, og året efter begyndte hun at komponere for blæseinstrumenter. I 1905 skrev hun Suite für Cornet in B und Klavier, der i 1915 blev bearbejdet til Suite for Kornet og Orkester Klaversonatens kompositionsstil blev af hendes læremester Orla Rosenhoff beskrevet som “hyper-romantisk,” og han mente, at den bar præg af hendes kærlighed til Wagner og Schumann.
I 1913–1914 skrev hun sin første og eneste opera Agnete og Havmanden, der havde tekst af forfateren Sophus Michaëlis, og som blev antaget til opførelse på Det Kongelige Teater. Grundet 1. verdenskrig og den materialemangel, krigen medførte, måte opsætningen aflyses.
I 1910’erne havde hun opnået anerkendelse som komponist, og hendes værker blev opført af flere solister og ensembler. Orkesterstykkerne Lygtemænd og Mosekonen Brygger blev begge opført ved en kompositionskoncert i 1915, hvor Politikens anmelder skrev, at Sehested viste sig som en “virkelig dygtig Dame.” 1
Sehesteds forkærlighed for at komponere musik for blæseinstrumenter fortsate, og hun skrev i midten af 1920’erne de to større værker for basun Morceau pathétique pour trombone avec accompagnement de piano i 1924 og Course des athlètes du Nord. Morceau symphonique pour trombone avec orchestra ou piano i 1925.
I de sidste ti år frem til sin død i 1936 indstillede Hilda Sehested komponistkarrieren.
Biography
Hilda Sehested was born on 27 April 1858 into a noble family at the Broholm manor on Funen and died on 15 April 1936 in Copenhagen.
As part of the general education that was required of women of Sehested’s social class, she was taught piano and music theory as a child. Sehested did not attend the conservatory, but began receiving private piano lessons from the composer C.F.E. Horneman as a 15-year-old in 1873. From 1886 she studied composition privately with Orla Rosenhoff.
Sehested expressed a desire to free herself from her home environment and her social duties at Broholm and in 1892 moved to Copenhagen. There she was closer to the musical life of the capital and like-minded, aspiring musicians and composers.
Sehested became engaged to the archaeologist Henry Petersen, who, however, died shortly before their planned wedding in 1896. Following this, she stopped both her lessons with Rosenhoff and composing. In the following years, she tried to find a new path in life and trained as an organist. She obtained her graduation certificate in 1899, but is not known to have held office as an organist afterwards.
It was not until 1900 that she returned to her old musical circle and began to compose and publish music again. In 1903 she published the works Piano Sonata in A Major and Intermezzi for Violin, Cello and Piano, and the following year began composing for wind instruments. In 1905 she wrote Suite for Cornet in Bb und Piano, which in 1915 was adapted into the Suite for Cornet and Orchestra The compositional style of the piano sonata was described by her teacher Orla Rosenhoff as “hyper-romantic,” believing that it was influenced by her love of Wagner and Schumann.
In 1913 – 1914 she wrote her first and only opera Agnete og Havmanden, to a text by the author Sophus Michaëlis, and which was accepted for performance at the Royal Theatre. Due to the 1st World War and the shortage of materials caused by the war, the staging had to be cancelled.
By the 1910s, she had achieved recognition as a composer, and her works were performed by several soloists and ensembles. The orchestral pieces Lygtemænd and Mosekonen Brygger were both performed at a composition concert in 1915, where Politiken’s reviewer wrote that Sehested proved to be a “really talented lady.” 1
Sehested’s penchant for composing music for wind instruments continued, and in the mid-1920s she wrote the two major works for trombone Morceau pathétique pour trombone avec accompaniment de piano in 1924 and Course des athlètes du Nord. Morceau symphonique pour trombone avec orchestra ou piano in 1925.
In the last ten years before her death in 1936, Hilda Sehested suspended her career as a composer.
1 “Gusch”, Politiken 26.3.1915.
1 “Gusch”, Politiken 26 March 1915.
Forord
Hilda Sehested afholdt 25. marts 1915 en koncert i København med egne kompositioner. I en biografisk artikel om Sehested publiceret i 1986, beretes det, at “det orkestermedlem som blæste engelskhorn, meddelte sit besøg hos hende og udbad sig flere og lange soloer i hendes næste arbejde.” 1 Denne opmuntring er sandsynligvis baggrunden for, at hun komponerede de to fantasistykker for engelskhorn, strygekvartet og kontrabas. Værkets kompositionsår angives ganske vist af Sehested selv som 1914 i et udkast til en værkliste udarbejdet 1932, men der er sandsynligvis tale om en fejlhuskning. 2 1915 eller primo 1916 forekommer overvejende sandsynligt. Stykkerne blev uropført 13. april 1916 ved en “Kammermusik-Aften” med egne værker, arrangeret af Sehested. Den fandt sted i Odd Fellow Palæets lille sal. Stykkerne blev spillet af oboisten Heinrich Petersen ledsaget af en strygekvartet, hvis medlemmer var Gunna Breuning-Storm, Johannes Schiørring, Thorvald Nielsen og Ernst Høeberg. På kontrabas var det Louis Hegner. Bortset fra Breuning-Storm var musikerne medlemmer af Det Kgl. Kapel. Programmet anfører værket under titlen Fantasistykker: “Ensomme Hyrde drømmer”. 1) Andantino. 2) Allegreto. Den mærkelige, grammatisk finurlige, formulering: “Ensomme Hyrde drømmer” findes enslydende på de to nodekilder, vi kender. Der må være pointe her, skønt “Den ensomme Hyrde drømmer” eller “Ensom Hyrde drømmer” ville falde mere naturligt på dansk. Det kunne give mening, hvis Sehested selv kaldte sig “Ensomme Hyrde”. Det er muligt, at titlen er et citat fra en ukendt kilde.
Uropførelsen 1916 blev anmeldt i Berlingske Tidende af Alfred Tofft: “Et par fantasistykker […] bragte […] bud fra en sensitiv Natur, der ikke ser lyst paa Livet. Men ved den stærkt overvejende Moll-Stemning undgaar Frk. Sehested ikke helt det monotone. Stykkerne fik en meget gunstig Modtagelse. Det sidste maate gentages.” 3 Charles Kjerulf anmeldte koncerten i Berlingske Tidende og kalder indledningsvis Sehested for “en Dame med baade grundige Kundskaber og Talent for at skrive Musik”: “Et par ejendommelige og kønne Fantasistykker […] viste tydeligt, hvor lidet kvindagtig Frk. Sehesteds musikalske Profil er.” 4
Værket blev genopført i Odd Fellow Palæets lille sal i Dansk Koncert-Forening den 8. februar 1918, hvor den specielle titel var udeladt. Programpunktet lød blot: To Fantasistykker for engelsk Horn og Strygere. Det var et program med kammermusik og sange af forskellige komponister. Sehesteds værk blev fremført af Heinrich Petersen (igen), mens strygekvarteten denne gang bestod af Axel Gade, Ole Helsted, Henry Holst og Axel Hildingsen, og på kontrabas var det, ligesom sidst, Louis Hegner. I Berlingske Tidende skrev kritikeren Alfred Tofft:
To Fantasistykker for engelsk Horn og Strygere af Hilda Sehested gjorde med Rete megen Lykke. I det første var Strygersatsen nok noget upraktisk anlagt, men begge Stykkerne var karakterfulde og virkede som noget for sig. Kapelmusikus Heinrich Petersen blæste smagfuldt, støtet af 5 habile Musikere. Tilhørernes Bifald havde
1 Grethe Holmen, Musse Magnussen og Ole Kongsted, “Komponisten Hilda Sehested”, i Meddelelser fra Musikhistorisk Museum og Carl Claudius’ Samling III, redigeret af Ole Kongsted (København: Musikhistorisk Museum og Carl Claudius’ Samling, 1986), 17-31.
2 Kladde til en fortegnelse over udvalgte værker findes i Rigsarkivet, Privatarkiv 6344 Hilda Sehested. Breve, sager vedr. koncerter m.v. B. C.8 (Diverse). Der er uden tvivl tale om et forarbejde til bidrag til Jürgen Balzer, Bibliographie des Compositeurs Danois (København: Dansk Komponist-Forening, 1932). Kladden synes baseret på hukommelsen, og der kan konstateres flere tvivlsomme kompositionsår, som gentages i Balzers bog.
3 “A.T.”, Berlingske Tidende 14.4.1916.
4 “Ch. K.”, Politiken 14.4.1916
Foreword
Hilda Sehested held a concert in Copenhagen on 25 March 1915 with her own compositions. In a biographical article about Sehested published in 1986, it is reported that “an orchestra member who played the English horn announced his visit to her and asked for more and longer solos in her next work.” 1 This encouragement is probably the background to her composing the two fantasy pieces for English horn, string quartet and double bass. The year of composition of the work is admittedly given by Sehested herself as 1914 in a draft of a list of works prepared in 1932, but this is probably a misremembering. 2 1915 or early 1916 seems most likely. The pieces were first performed on 13 April 1916 at a “Chamber Music Evening” with her own works, arranged by Sehested. It took place in the small hall of the Odd Fellow Palace. The pieces were played by the oboist Heinrich Petersen accompanied by a string quartet whose members were Gunna Breuning-Storm, Johannes Schiørring, Thorvald Nielsen and Ernst Høeberg with Louis Hegner on double bass. Apart from Breuning-Storm, the musicians were members of the Royal Danish Orchestra. The program lists the work under the title Fantasy pieces: “Lonely Shepherd Dreams”. 1) Andantino. 2) Allegreto. The strange, grammatically whimsical wording: “Lonely Shepherd Dreams” is found identically on the two sheet music sources we know. There must be a point here, although “The lonely shepherd dreams” or “Lone shepherd dreams” would sound more natural in Danish. It could make sense if Sehested had called herself “Lonely Shepherd”. It is possible that the title is a quote from an unknown source.
The first performance in 1916 was reviewed in Berlingske Tidende by Alfred Tofft: “A few fantasy pieces […] brought […] messages from a sensitive nature that does not look favourably on life. But in the strongly predominantly minor mood, Ms. Sehested does not quite avoid the monotonous. The pieces received a very favourable reception. The last had to be repeated.” 3 Charles Kjerulf reviewed the concert in Berlingske Tidende and initially called Sehested “a lady with both thorough knowledge and talent for writing music”: “A few strange and prety fantasy pieces […] clearly showed how little Ms. Sehested’s musical profile is a feminine one.” 4
The work was performed again in the small hall of the Odd Fellow Palace at the Danish Concert Society on 8 February 1918, where the special title was omited. The program item simply read: Two Fantasy Pieces for English Horn and Strings. It was a program of chamber music and songs by various composers. Sehested’s work was performed by Heinrich Petersen (again), while the string quartet this time consisted of Axel Gade, Ole Helsted, Henry Holst and Axel Hildingsen, and, as previously, with Louis Hegneron on double bass. In Berlingske Tidende, the critic Alfred Tofft wrote:
Two Fantasy Pieces for English Horn and Strings by Hilda Sehested rightly brought much happiness. In the first, the movement for stings was probably somewhat impractical, but both pieces were full of character and seemed like something out of the ordinary. Orchestral musician Heinrich
1 Grethe Holmen, Musse Magnussen and Ole Kongsted, “Composer Hilda Sehested”, in Meddelelser fra Musikhistorisk Museum og Carl Claudius’ Samling III, edited by Ole Kongsted (Copenhagen: Musikhistorisk Museum og Carl Claudius’ Samling, 1986), 17 – 31.
2 Draft for an index of selected works can be found in the National Archives, Private Archive 6344 Hilda Sehested. Leters, cases concerning concerts etc. B. C.8 (Miscellaneous). It is undoubtedly a preparatory work for a contribution to Jürgen Balzer, Bibliographie des Compositeurs Danois (Copenhagen: Dansk Komponist-Forening, 1932). The draft seems based on memory, and several dubious years of composition can be ascertained, which are repeated in Balzer’s book.
3 “A.T.”, Berlingske Tidende 14 April 1916.
4 “Ch. K.”, Politiken 14 April 1916
tydeligt nok en Fremkaldelse af Komponisten til Hensigt, men Frk. Sehested forblev beskedent paa sin Plads. 5
Emilius Bangert sekunderede i sin anmeldelse i avisen Hovedstaden: “Paa ny hævdede disse stilfærdige, lidt skotsk farvede og fint udarbejdede Stykker sig smukt.” 6
Da Musse Magnussen i 1986 udgav den første fortegnelse over Sehesteds værker, var de to fantasistykker at finde i den afslutende liste over forsvundne værker (under den ikke korrekte titel “Ensomme Hyrdedrømme”). 7 Sehesteds autografpartitur og en afskrift af solostemmen blev dog fundet på herregården Broholm, og værket blev opført dér i 2015 med Mete Termansen som solist. Fotokopier af de to kilder er stillet til rådighed af Mette Termansen. Den præcise lokalisering af originalmanuskripterne kendes ikke for tiden, og udgaven her er derfor baseret på fotokopierne, som er af udmærket kvalitet. Et indskud, som er markeret i partituret med “* indsæt her” mellem t. 24 og 25, ses som to ekstra takter i engelskhornstemmen. To takter mærket * findes imidlertid ikke i partiturform og indskuddet har derfor måtet udelades af udgaven.
Bendt Viinholt Nielsen
Petersen played tastefully, supported by 5 skilled musicians. The audience’s applause clearly sought to bring out the composer, but Ms. Sehested modestly remained in her place. 5
Emilius Bangert seconded in his review in the newspaper Hovedstaden: “Once again these quiet, slightly Scottish coloured and finely crafted pieces asserted themselves beautifully.” 6 When Musse Magnussen published the first catalog of Sehested’s works in 1986, the two fantasy pieces were to be found in the final list of lost works (under the incorrect title “Lonely Shepherd’s Dreams”). 7 However, Sehested’s autograph score and a copy of the solo part were found at Broholm manor, and the work was performed there in 2015 with Mete Termansen as soloist. Photocopies of the two sources have been made available by Mette Termansen. The exact location of the original manuscripts is not currently known, and the edition here is therefore based on the photocopies, which are of excellent quality. An insertion, which is marked in the score with “* insert here” between bars 24 and 25, is seen as two extra bars in the English horn part. However, the two bars marked * do not exist in score form and it has therefore been necessary to omit the insert from this edition.
5 “A.T.”, Berlingske Tidende 10.2.1918
6 “E. Bgt.”, Hovedstaden 9.2.1918.
7 Holmen, Magnussen og Kongsted, “Komponisten Hilda Sehested”, 32-41.
Bendt Viinholt Nielsen
5 “A.T.”, Berlingske Tidende 10 Feb. 1918.
6 “E. Bgt.”, Hovedstaden 9 Feb. 1918.
7 Holmen, Magnussen and Kongsted, “Komponisten Hilda Sehested”, 32 – 41.
To Fantasistykker
“Ensomme Hyrde drømmer”
Hilda Sehested: To Fantasistykker - 7
Hilda Sehested (1858-1936)
Hilda Sehested: To Fantasistykker - 13
Description of sources
A Autograph score [photo copy]
B English horn part (transcript) [photo copy]
A Autograph score [photo copy]
The autograph is privately owned. A photo copy has been available for the editor.
Title (on a cover): “2 Fantasistykker for Engelsk Horn / med Akkompagment af Strygekvartet og Kontrabas / af / Hilda Sehested”
Heading on top of the first page of music: “Fantasistykker. / (Ensomme Hyrde drømmer)”
Undated. Signed: “Hilda Sehested”.
34.5 × 27 cm. 12 partly unnumbered pages.
Fair copy in ink.
Paper type: “Heimdal” 1653 (18 staves).
B English horn part (transcript) [photo copy]
The original transcript is privately owned. A photo copy has been available for the editor.
Heading of movement I: “Fantasistykker. I Ensomme Hyrde drømmer”
Heading of movement II: “Fantasistykker / II / (Ensomme Hyrde drømmer)”
Undated. Unsigned.
Size of photo copy: 34.5 × 27 cm. 3 unnumbered pages.
Fair copy in ink.
Paper type: 12 staves without manufacturer’s name.
Commentary on the edition
The edition is based on the autograph score (A). The English horn part (B) is not given source authority in relation to the edition. The part contains copying errors, but a few musician’s additions and corrections stemming from performances 1915 and 1918 may be of interest. In the notes below, variants are listed, while copying errors and typical annotations by musicians are omitted.
In movement II, the score contains the remark: “* insert here” between bars 24 and 25. From the English horn part, it appears that this insertion comprises just two bars, which look like a repetition, so that bars 24 and 25 must be played twice (however, probably in some varied form in the strings). Since the insertion is not known in score form, the editor has refrained from speculating on the content of the two bars.
Missing ending points of slurs after a page or accolade break have been added tacitly.
