Special Collections Finding Aids

J. C. Gebauer Collection - Books

Accession: SC1998.59

Location: M2A 8,1-2

Size: 4 feet

Biography: Composer, organist, teacher, Johan Christian Gebauer (1808-1884) was a primary influence in the development of modern Danish musical culture. Danish children since the mid-nineteenth century have grown up with his settings of children's poems by Hans Christian Andersen, Julius Gerson, B.S. Ingemann, Adam Oehlenschlaeger, and other noted Danish writers. Those who have studied music are familiar with his easy piano pieces and methods, many of which are still in print. He wrote the first Danish theory text for use in conservatories, and, as instructor of harmony and counterpoint in the Copenhagen Royal Conservatory from 1867-1883, he was revered as a teacher by many of Denmark's leading musicians. Some of his students distinguished themselves in this country, such as Carl Bush, founder of the Kansas City Symphony, and Cornelius Rybner, head of the Music Department of Columbia University from 1904-1919. Raised In Jutland in the Moravian community of Christiansfeld, he was a recognized authority on church music, and wrote an influential article on congregational singing. He served as organist in Copenhagen's Church of the Holy Spirit from 1859 until his death in 1884, and his hymn tunes remain in use in Danish churches. His contributions to Danish song, especially the Romance, rank with those of Kuhlau, Hartmann, Weyse, and Gade. While Gebauer was not an international figure, his work provides a rich context for the study of his more cosmopolitan contemporaries and successors.

Provenance: Like the Kuhlau and Carl Nielsen Collections, the J.C. Gebauer Collection was purchased from the Danish agent and musical antiquarian, Dan Fog in 1973.

Scope and Content: The collection is divided into two series, comprising Gebauer's entire oeuvre, along with other pertinent materials. Series 1 consists of printed music in single copies and collections. Series 2 contains books, periodicals, and photocopies of articles and clippings, as well as pedagogical works and essays by Gebauer. Some of the collections of printed music include pieces by other Danish composers.

Associations: The Carl Nielsen Collection, the Kuhlau Collection, and materials by and about these composers cataloged individually in the Rare Books and Circulating Collections of the Sibley Library.

Restrictions: There are no restrictions on the use of these materials, except where normal conventions of copyright law apply.

Series: 2

Series Name: Books

Series Description: This series includes books, periodicals, and pedagogical works, along with photocopies of clippings and articles from journals, newspapers, and biographical dictionaries.