Catharinus Elling was a Norwegian music teacher, organist, folk music

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 collector and composer.

He studied piano and composition in Leipzig

Leipzig

Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

 from 1877–78 and in Berlin from 1886–87. From 1896–1908, he was teacher at musikkonservatoriet i Oslo. He was also (1908–26) organist at Gamlebyen kirke.

As a composer, he wrote symphonies

Symphony

A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...

, a violin concerto

Violin concerto

A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...

, chamber music

Chamber music

Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...

, an opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

, and more than 200 songs, most in the 1890-1905 period. His works are seldom performed now, but many musicians were influenced by him, such as Fartein Valen

Fartein Valen

Olav Fartein Valen was a Norwegian composer and musical theorist, notable for his work within atonal polyphonic music.-Background:...

, who studied music under Elling.

Elling was named to a state stipend in 1899, and continued a folk music led collection across many parts of the country: Trøndelag, the valleys of Oppland, Telemark and Setesdal. At the same time, folk music collector Olav Sande was also named to a state stipend, and the two "divided the country between them", Sande taking the music tradition from Sogn to Vest-Agder. Elling's mandate was to collect music and also work to preserve it. He published a range of music books with titles such as Norske folkemelodier for klaver, Norske folkeviser for sang og klaver and Slåtter for fiolin og klaver. Both at the time, and since, he has been criticised for wanting to rearrange folk music to fit with classical music's style.

He was the brother of engineer Ægidius Elling

Ægidius Elling

Jens William Ægidius Elling was a Norwegian researcher, inventor and pioneer of gas turbine who is considered to be the father of the gas turbine. He built the first gas turbine that was able to produce more power than needed to run its own components.Elling was born in and grew up in Oslo, Norway...

, who invented the gas turbine.

Selected works

• Symphony in A major (1890)
• Kosakkerne, Opera (1894)
• Den forlorne Søn, Oratorio (1896)
• String Quartet in D major

External links