Johan Halvorsen(1864-1935): a Catalogue of the Orchestral music

[Dundonnell]

This catalogue is presented with considerable reservations. The normally reliable Norwegian Music Information Centre gives very few dates or opus numbers for Halvorsen's compositions and those dates which are given frequently conflict wildly with other sources, including the "Store Norske Leksikon". Without access to the cd booklet notes for those works which have been issued on cd I cannot establish definitive dates. If anyone can help sort out the mess I would be delighted

JOHAN HALVORSEN: A CATALOGUE OF THE ORCHESTRAL AND CHORAL MUSIC

1882-83:"Hallingdal Bataljon's Marsj" for concert band
1893:   Entry March of the Boyars for orchestra or concert band: 4 minutes     +  (several recordings)
1895:   Cantata "Varde and Thor Foleson" for male chorus and orchestra, op.11
1896:   Suite "Vasantasena" for orchestra: 20 minutes
             Norwegian Dances for Violin and Orchestra Nos. 1-2   +  (NKK, Naxos and Chandos cds)
1896/1903:Norwegian Air for Violin and Orchestra, op.7: 7 minutes   +  (NKK and Naxos cds)
1896-98:"Veslemoy's Song" for Violin and Orchestra: 3 minutes   +  (NKK cd)
1898:   "Danse visionaire(Maneskinsmoyarne)" for orchestra: 7 minutes
1899:   Norwegian Festival Overture, op.16: 9 minutes   +  (NKK and Chandos cd)
             Andante Religioso for Violin and Orchestra: 6 minutes   +  (NKK, Naxos and Chandos cds)
1900:   "Gurre-Suite"(Dramatic Suite No.2) for orchestra: 15 minutes
1901:   "Tordenskjold-Suite" (Dramatic Suite No.1) for orchestra: 15 minutes
1901/13:"The Old Fisherman's Song for Violin and String Orchestra, op.31: 3 minutes    + (Naxos cd)
1902:   "Kongen-Suite" (Dramatic Suite No.3) for orchestra: 17 minutes
1903:   "Salme pa Olavsdagen" for voice and orchestra or orchestra
1905/11:"Fossegrimmen-Suite" (Dramatic Suite No.4) for orchestra, op.21: 29 minutes    +  (Chandos cd)
1906:   "Osterdolsmarschen" for voice and orchestra, op.23
               Coronation Cantata of 22 June 1906 for soprano, baritone, chorus, orchestra, harp and organ, op.27
1907-09:Violin Concerto in G major
1910:   "Bjornstjerne Bjornson in Memoriam" for orchestra, op.30
             "Norway's Greeting to Theodore Roosevelt" for orchestra
1911:   Norwegian Song for string orchestra, op.31: 3 minutes
             "Suite ancienne to the Memory of Ludvig Holberg" for orchestra, op.31a: 25 minutes
1912:   Festival March for orchestra, op.32
             "Norwegian Wedding March" for Violin and Orchestra, op.32, No.1: 4 minutes    + (NKK, Naxos and Chandos cds)
1913:   Serenade for orchestra, op.33
1919-20:Norwegian Rhapsody No.1 in A major for orchestra: 12 minutes    +  (NKK and Chandos cds)
              Norwegian Rhapsody No.2 in G major for orchestra: 11 minutes     +  (Aurora, NKK, Simax and Chandos cds)
1921:   "Bergensiana: Rococco Variations on an Old Melody from Bergen" for orchestra: 10 minutes    + (NKK, Chandos and Simax cds)
1922:   "Norwegian Fairy-tale Pictures" for orchestra, op.37: 18 minutes     +  (NKK and Chandos cds)
             "Mascarade-Suite" for orchestra: 28 minutes   +  (Chandos cd)
1923:   Symphony No.1 in C minor: 35 minutes   + (Aurora, Simax and Chandos cds)
1924:   Ballet Suite from "Reisen til Julestjernen"
1924/28:Symphony No.2 "Fatum" in D minor: 28 minutes   +  (Simax, NKK and Chandos cds)
1929:   Symphony No.3 in C major: 26 minutes   +  (Simax and Chandos cds)
1929-30:Norwegian Dances for Violin and Orchestra, Nos.3-6   + (Naxos and Chandos cds)


and      

Suite "Nordraakiana" for orchestra: 16 minutes    +  (Simax cd)
Suite "Askeladden" for orchestra: 14 minutes
Italian Serenade for orchestra
"Scene funebre" for orchestra
"Contredans" for orchestra
"Christmas Evening in the Wood" for orchestra
"Marche Chevaleresque" for orchestra
Melody for orchestra
"The Iris" for orchestra: 4 minutes
Norwegian Giant Dance for orchestra: 3 minutes   +  (Naxos cd)
"Prinsessen ridende pa bjornen" for orchestra  +  (Naxos cd)
"Trollenes inntog I beget det bla" for orchestra   +  (Naxos cd)
"Falkvor Lommansson" for small orchestra
Elegy for string orchesra, op.29, No.3: 4 minutes
"Rabnabryllaup uti Kraakjalund" for string orchestra: 4 minutes   +  (Chandos cd)
"Nachtlicher Zug" for string orchestra, op.29, No.2
"Gatemarsj" for concert band
"Salutation to the Royal Couple of Norway" for concert band
"Norwegian Sea Picture" for concert band
"Landmark-Cantata"("Die Warte") for male choir and orchestra: 5 minutes

[TerraEpon]

Huh, and here I thought the four Chandos CDs were supposed to be almost everything...

[hemmesjo]

I have an Aurora and two Norsk Kulturråds Klassikerserie CDs of Halvorsen.

Aurora  ARCD 1921

1923:   Symphony No.1 in C minor
Suite "Nordraakiana" for orchestra

NKK  NKFCD 50013

1919-20:Norwegian Rhapsody No.1 in A major for orchestra
Norwegian Rhapsody No.2 in G major for orchestra
1899:   Norwegian Festival Overture, op.16
1921:   "Bergensiana: Rococco Variations on an Old Melody from Bergen" for orchestra
Andante Religioso for Violin and Orchestra
Norwegian Wedding March" for Violin and Orchestra, op.32, No.1
Passacaglia for violin and viola

NKFCD 50014

1924/28:Symphony No.2 "Fatum" in D minor
1922:   "Norwegian Fairy-tale Pictures" for orchestra, op.37
1896/1903:Norwegian Air for Violin and Orchestra, op.7
Norwegian Dances for Violin and Orchestra Nos. 1-2
1929-30:Norwegian Dances for Violin and Orchestra, Nos.3
1896-98:"Veslemøy's Song" for Violin and Orchestra

Dan

[eschiss1]

I think IMSLP lists a few supplementary works for orchestra not above (probably mostly arrangements).
A complete score of Op.21 can be found at IMSLP here (different dates are offered.)
And see here for both the score and the parts to the first symphony.

"Peik, prinsessen og stortrollet (Peik, the Princess and the Big Troll)" is listed, not sure what that is though (orchestra only is claimed.)
1903 is the date claimed for the Andante for violin and orchestra (Chandos I think claims this has had several instrumentations?)


According to IMSLP's editors who may be mistaken, Norway's Greeting was also given Opus 31. (Not inconceivable though; opus number duplications etc. often happen. Though just having the opus number be 31 on the score is not decisive since that could be a typo (thinking of a Czerny sonata case...) - ok, not getting started with that mess.) )

[Dundonnell]

As I say, trying to compile the Halvorsen catalogue was a nightmare

[hemmesjo]

Peik, prinsessen og stortrollet (Peik, the Princess and the Big Troll) is one of the four "Scenes from Norwegian Tales". 
The others are:
Prinsessen kommer ridende på bjørnen (The Princess appears, riding on the Bear); Trollenes inntog i Berget det Blå (The Trolls enter the Blue Mountain)
Dans av småltroll (Dance of the Little Trolls)

[FBerwald]

Sorry to pose this question so late but what about the Violin Concerto? Has it survived?

[eschiss1]

At least according to Norwegian Wikipedia, it's "tapt", or, well... "lost", sorry.
There's a whole lot of Halvorsen manuscripts/fragments/things (including also radio interviews, other digitalized "stuff") (522) at www.nb.no but none (... nothing relevant) seems to be of a "Fiolinkonsert", either! Sorry.

[Alan Howe]

Toskey has a reference to a VC, but no accompanying details whatsoever.

[Wheesht]

The chapter on Sinding and Halvorsen in volume 3 (of 5) of "Norges Musikk Historie" published by Aschehoug in 1999 says that Halvorsen worked on a VC for over a year and that it was performed by 19-year-old Canadian violinist Kathleen Parlow in 1909. Some critics wrote that the many good details about the concerto did not add up it into a convincing whole such as was required of a concerto, and this led to Halvorsen's destroying the entire concerto.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for that great piece of research. Solves the problem...

[Wheesht]

... and makes you wonder about the power of critics - well, maybe they were right but perhaps the concerto was just too different from others that those critics knew?

[Alan Howe]

Seems unlikely. Halvorsen was a pretty conservative composer.