— A portrait of Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s vocal music
COURSE OFFERED SPRING 2026
Teaching institution: Royal Danish Academy of Music
Course Tutor: Søren Schauser
Contact email: Soeren.Schauser@dkdm.dk
Course level: Undergraduate, Postgraduate
The Songs that Shaped a Nation — A portrait of Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s vocal music
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Learn more about the historical and cultural background of Nielsen’s songs through this course that combines asynchronous teaching and 1-2 individual online masterclasses, where you will work on interpretation of a song by Carl Nielsen chosen with guidance from RDAM voice faculty.
Outside of Denmark, Carl Nielsen is one of the most fascinating figures in European musical culture in the early 20th century. In his homeland, a large part of his song oeuvre of more than 300 songs has been known by virtually every Danish citizen, making him extremely influential in creating a unique style of music.
But what is the background of these songs? We will start by examining the political landscape in Denmark after the country’s disastrous defeat to Germany in 1864 that gave rise to longing for national pride through artistic expressions.
We will discuss the benefits and challenges of performing these songs in their original language, studying the music from the performers’ perspective and learning about the experiences of singers and pianists. And finally, we’ll have a look at Carl Nielsen’s controversial label as a “national” composer and at the common critique of such labelling as wrong and abusive.