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Knud Jeppesen: Architect of Musical Understanding

An exploration of the life, scholarly contributions, and musical works of Knud Jeppesen, Danish musicologist and composer, focusing on his seminal work on Palestrina and 16th-century music.

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Biography

Early Life and Musical Aptitude

Knud Jeppesen (15 August 1892 – 14 June 1974) was a Danish musicologist and composer. Demonstrating remarkable musical talent from a young age, he was largely self-taught, though he received early encouragement from Hakon Andersen and Paul Hellmuth. After completing primary education in 1911, Jeppesen initially worked as an opera coach and conductor in Elbing and Liegnitz, Germany. The outbreak of war prompted his return to Denmark.

Academic Pursuits and Doctorate

In Copenhagen, Jeppesen studied under prominent Danish composers Carl Nielsen and Thomas Laub, and pursued musicology at Copenhagen University with Angul Hammerich. He earned his organist certification from the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in 1916. Lacking a faculty member at Copenhagen capable of examining his doctoral work, he submitted his dissertation to the University of Vienna. There, under the review of Guido Adler, he was awarded his doctorate in 1922.

Career in Academia and Music

Jeppesen served as an organist at St. Stephen's Church (1917–1932) and later at Holmen Church (1932–1947) in Copenhagen. He also taught music theory at the Royal Danish Academy of Music from 1920 to 1947, contributing to its board of directors. In 1946, he established the Institute of Musicology at Aarhus University, serving as its first professor and director until 1957. His influence extended to students like composers Vagn Holmboe and Bent Lorentzen.

Later Life and Frottole Research

Following his retirement in 1957, Jeppesen resided in Italy. This period allowed him to conduct significant research in Italian libraries, culminating in his magnum opus, La frottola (1968–70). This extensive study and bibliography focused on the frottole, a key genre of Italian popular secular songs from the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He remained active in the International Musicological Society, serving as its president from 1949 to 1952, and was elected to the Italian Accademia dei Lincei.

Musicology: Palestrina and Counterpoint

Leading Palestrina Scholar

Knud Jeppesen is most renowned for his profound scholarship on the Renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. He is considered the foremost authority on Palestrina's life and music. His meticulous research and analysis set new standards for understanding 16th-century polyphonic vocal style.

Seminal Textbooks

Jeppesen's 1930 work, Counterpoint: The Polyphonic Vocal Style of the Sixteenth Century, became an indispensable textbook upon its publication in German and English, remaining in print for decades. His doctoral thesis, expanded and published in English as The Style of Palestrina and the Dissonance (1927), is cited as a highly distinguished and influential example of stylistic analysis in musicology.

Research and Discovery

His published works primarily focus on Italian and Danish composers of the 16th and 17th centuries. Jeppesen dedicated himself to primary source research, locating and preparing critical editions of early scores. Notably, he discovered ten previously unknown masses by Palestrina in 1949 and completed the first comprehensive thematic catalog of Palestrina's oeuvre in 1962.

Musical Compositions and Style

Return to Composition

After an initial period where his early compositions were not well-received, leading him to cease composing in 1919, Jeppesen resumed his creative work after a fifteen-year hiatus. His compositional output includes well-crafted songs, significant church music, motets, cantatas, organ works, and an opera.

Opera and Hymnology

His opera, Rosaura, based on texts by himself and Carlo Goldoni, premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in 1950. Jeppesen also made substantial contributions to Danish hymnology, with pieces like Bygen flygter, Forunderligt så sødt et smil becoming classics performed by Danish church choirs.

Stylistic Influences

Jeppesen's musical style masterfully integrates his deep knowledge of early counterpoint with the expressive language of late Viennese Romantics, including Gustav Mahler, whom he met through Guido Adler. He was also a close associate of Carl Nielsen from 1916 to 1931, contributing significantly to the understanding of Nielsen's symphonic works through his writings.

Selected Compositions

Catalog of Works

Jeppesen composed across various genres throughout his career. Below is a selection of his notable works:

  • 1906 "Nordisk Festmarche" for 3 violins, cello, harmonium or piano
  • 1911 Staka, Symphonic poem (tenor and piano)
  • 1912 "Foraar" for soloists and orchestra (text: Johannes Jørgensen)
  • 1915 String quartet in F (student composition)
  • 1919 Violin sonata
  • 1925 Kantate for Rungsted Kostskoles Samfund
  • 1930 Sonatine in C major (piano)
  • 1934 Gud, vend øren til min Bøn (Motet 4-part mixed choir)
  • 1935 Hvad er et Menneske? (Motet for 4-part mixed choir)
  • 1936 Reformation Cantata
  • 1937 Domine, refugium factus es nobis – Cantata for soprano, and flute or violin solo
  • 1938 Sjællandsfar (symphony)
  • 1940 To Patetiske sange
  • 1941 Horn concerto
  • 1941 Lille Sommertrio (Little Summer Trio) (for flute, cello and piano)
  • 1942 Prelude and fugue in E minor (organ)
  • 1942/45 Te Deum Danicum (for the opening of the Danish Radio concert hall)
  • 1944 Lille trio (La primavera)
  • 1944 Haglskyen (8 part male chorus. Text: Knud Wiinstedt)
  • 1945 Dronning Dagmar Messe
  • 1946 Kantate ved indvielsen af Aarhus Universitets hovedbygning
  • 1949 Ørnen og skarnbassen (for the Københavns Drengekors 25 year jubilee)
  • 1950 Rosaura, opera in three acts after texts by the composer and Carlo Goldoni
  • 1951 Kantate ved genindvielsen af Haderslev Domkirke
  • 1951 "Du gav mig o herre en lod af din jord" (C. R. Sundell)
  • 1951 Dagen viger og gaar bort, cantata for alto soloist, mixed chorus, string orchestra or organ (text: Dorothea Engelbretsdatter)
  • 1952 Kantate ved Det Jyske Musikkonservatoriums 25-års jubilæum
  • 1953 Vintergæk er brudt af mulden (Hymn)
  • 1957 50 choral preludes for organ
  • 1965 (?) Passacaglia (organ)
  • Intonazione boreale (organ)
  • Landsbymusik (small orchestra)

Critical Editions

Scholarly Publications

Jeppesen meticulously prepared editions of significant musical works, often accompanied by detailed annotations and commentary. His work in this area was crucial for the preservation and study of early music.

  • with V. Brøndal: Der Kopenhagener Chansonnier (Copenhagen, 1927, 2 cd edition 1965)
  • Værker af Mogens Pedersøn, Dania sonans, i (Copenhagen, 1933)
  • with V. Brøndal: Die mehrstimmige italienische Laude um 1500 (Leipzig and Copenhagen, 1935 (revised))
  • Die italienische Orgelmusik am Anfang des Cinquecento (Copenhagen, 1943, enlarged 2 cd edition 1960)
  • Dietrich Buxtehude: Min Gud er med mig (Der Herr ist mit mir), Samfundet til udgivelse af dansk musik, 3rd ser., lxxxix (Copenhagen, 1946)
  • La flora, arie &c. antiche italiane (Copenhagen, 1949)
  • Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Le messe di Mantova, Le opere complete, xviii–xix (Rome, 1954)
  • Balli antichi veneziani per cembalo (Copenhagen, 1962)
  • Italia sacra musica: musiche corali italiane sconosciute della prima metà del Cinquecento (Copenhagen, 1962)
  • Founding editor of Dania Sonans, issuing editions of early Danish music.

Scholarly Writings

Academic Publications

Jeppesen authored numerous influential articles and books throughout his career, contributing significantly to the fields of musicology, music theory, and historical musicology.

  • "Die Dissonanzbehandlung bei Palestrina" (diss., University of Vienna, 1922; enlarged Copenhagen, 1923, as Palestrinastil med saerligt henblik paa dissonansbehandlingen; Ger. trans., 1925; Eng. trans. as The Style of Palestrina and the Dissonance, 1927, 2/1946 (revised))
  • "Das 'Sprunggesetz' des Palestrinastils bei betonten Viertelnoten (halben Taktzeiten)", Musikwissenschaftlicher Kongress: Basel 1924, pp. 211–19
  • "Johann Joseph Fux und die moderne Kontrapunkttheorie", Deutsche Musikgesellschaft: Kongress I: Leipzig 1925, pp. 187–8
  • "Das isometrische Moment in der Vokalpolyphonie", Festschrift Peter Wagner, ed. K. Weinmann (Leipzig, 1926), pp. 87–100
  • "Über einen Brief Palestrinas", Festschrift Peter Wagner, ed. K. Weinmann (Leipzig, 1926), pp. 100–07
  • "Die Textlegung in der Chansonmusik des späten 15. Jahrhunderts", Beethoven-Zentenarfeier: Vienna 1927, pp. 155–57
  • "Die neuentdeckten Bücher der Lauden des Ottaviano dei Petrucci und andere musikalische Seltenheiten der Biblioteca Colombina zu Sevilla", Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft, xii (1929–30), pp. 73–89.
  • Kontrapunkt (vokalpolyfoni) [Counterpoint] (Copenhagen, 1930, 3rd ed. 1962; Ger. trans., 1935, 5/1970; Eng. trans., 1939, 2 cd edition)
  • "Wann entstand die Marcellus-Messe?", Studien zur Musikgeschichte: Festschrift für Guido Adler (Vienna, 1930), pp. 126–36
  • "Die 3 Gafurius-Kodizes der Fabbrico del Duomo, Milano", Acta Musicologia, iii (1931), 14–28
  • "Ein venezianisches Laudenmanuskript", Theodor Kroyer: Festschrift, ed. H. Zenck, H. Schultz and W. Gerstenberg (Regensburg, 1933), p. 69–76
  • "Diderik Buxtehude" (Dieterich Buxtehude), Dansk musiktidsskrift, xii (1937), p. 63–70
  • "Rom og den danske musik", Rom og Danmark gennem tiderne, ii, ed. L. Bobé (Copenhagen, 1937), pp. 153–76
  • "Über einige unbekannte Frottolenhandschriften", Acta Musicologia, xi (1939), pp. 81–114
  • "Venetian Folk-Songs of the Renaissance", papers of the American Musicological Society, 1939, pp. 62–75
  • "Eine musiktheoretische Korrespondenz des frúheren Cinquecento", Acta Musicologia, xiii (1941), pp. 3–39
  • "Das Volksliedgut in den Frottolenbüchern des Octavio Petrucci (1504–1514)", Emlékkönyv Kodály Zoltán hatvanadik születésnapjára, ed. B. Gunda (Budapest, 1943), pp. 265–74
  • "Marcellus-Probleme", Acta Musicologia, xvi–xvii (1944–5), pp. 11–38
  • "Choralis Constantinus som liturgisk dokument", Festskrift til O.M. Sandvik, ed. O. Gurvin (Oslo, 1945), pp. 52–82
  • "Et nodefund paa Konservatoriet", Dansk musiktidsskrift, xx (1945), pp. 41–7, pp. 67–70
  • "Carl Nielsen, a Danish Composer", Music Review, vii (1946), pp. 170–77
  • "Zur Kritik der klassischen Harmonielehre", International Musicological Society Congress Report IV: Basel 1949, pp. 23–34
  • "The Recently Discovered Mantova Masses of Palestrina: a Provisional Communication", Acta Musicologia, xxii (1950), pp. 36–47
  • "Pierluigi da Palestrina, Herzog Gugliemo Gonzaga und die neugefundenen Mantovaner-Messen Palestrinas: ein ergäzender Bericht", Acta Musicologia, xxv (1953), pp. 132–79
  • "Cavazzoni-Cabezón", Journal of the American Musicological Society, viii (1955), pp. 81–5
  • "Eine frühe Orgelmesse aus Castell'Arquato", Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, xii (1955), pp. 187–205
  • "Palestriniana: ein unbekanntes Autogramm und einige unveröffentlichte Falsibordoni des Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina", Miscelánea en homenaje a Monseñor Higinio Anglés (Barcelona, 1958–61), pp. 417–30
  • "Et par notationstekniske problemer i det 16. aarhundredes musik og nogle dertil knyttede iagttagelser (taktindelling partitur)", Svensk tidskrift för musikforskning, xliii (1961), pp. 171–93
  • "Ein altvenetianisches Tanzbuch", Festschrift Karl Gustav Fellerer zum sechzigsten Geburtstag, ed. H. Hüschen (Regensburg, 1962), pp. 245–63
  • "Über italienische Kirchenmusik in der ersten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts", Studia musicologica Academiae scientiarum hungaricae, iii (1962), pp. 149–60
  • "Carl Nielsen paa hundredaarsdagen: nogle erindringer", Dansk aarbog for musikforskning, iv (1964–5), pp. 137–50
  • "The Manuscript Florence Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Banco rari 230: an Attempt at Diplomatic Reconstruction", Aspects of Medieval and Renaissance Music: a Birthday Offering to Gustave Reese, ed. J. LaRue and others (New York, 1966 revised), pp. 440–47
  • "Monteverdi, Kapellmeister an S. Barbara?", Claudio Monteverdi e il suo tempo: Venice, Mantua and Cremona 1968, pp. 313–22
  • La frottola (Århus and Copenhagen, 1968–70)
  • "An Unknown Pre-Madrigalian Music Print in Relation to other Contemporary Italian Sources (1520–1530)", Studies in Musicology: Essays … in Memory of Glen Haydon, ed. J.W. Pruett (Chapel Hill, NC, 1969), pp. 3–17
  • "Alcune brevi annotazioni sulla musicologia", Scritti in onore di Luigi Ronga (Milan and Naples, 1973), pp. 275–78

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