Scandinavian art songs are a unique expression of the cultures of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Although these three countries are distinct from one another, their languages and cultures share many similarities. Common themes found in art and literature include a love of nature, especially of the sea, feelings of longing and melancholy, the contrast between light and dark, the extremes of the northern climate, and lively folk traditions. These shared sensibilities are reflected and expressed in a tangible way through music. Scandinavian art song has faced several challenges over the years in North America (even in the American Midwest, where descendants of Scandinavian immigrants are concentrated). But matters have changed recently with the recent expansion of diction curricula to cover languages other than English, French, German, and Italian. The primary obstacle remains practical resources for the study of art songs and lyric diction of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. This guide remedies this problem. Scandinavian Song is a practical guide to the art songs of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Unlike other sources that give at best a cursory overview of lyric diction in the Scandinavian languages, this guide provides practical information, enabling teachers and students to render transcriptions of Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish texts into the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)—an absolute necessity for any study of repertoire. An extensive survey of available music, sample IPA transcriptions and translations, as well as a website link with native speakers reciting selected song texts, make this book an invaluable resource for students and professors in North American college, university, and conservatory voice programs.

New Music of the Nordic Countries describes the music of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden composed during the latter half of the twentieth century. Along with providing biographical material on most of the living Nordic composers, the book discusses in detail the major trends in Scandinavian contemporary music as well as many of the recent musical works. The 800-page volume is edited by John D. White, a former Scholar to Iceland and a Fellow of the American-Scandinavian Foundation. White is the author of Part III, New Music in Iceland and has enlisted five other distinguished Nordic musical scholars to write the remaining sections of the book. Bound together philosophically, geographically, and to a significant extent ethnically, the five Nordic countries hold a unique place in today's world. They are populated by talented, creative achievers, and each nation possesses its own special qualities. This is certainly true in its music, yet little of Nordic tone art of the late twentieth century is widely known outside of Northern Europe. Thus, this comprehensive volume will serve a valuable purpose in disseminating knowledge about this important body of music literature.

An essential exploration of Nordic composers and musicians, and the distinctive culture that continues to shape them Once considered a musical backwater, the Nordic region is now a musical powerhouse. Conductors from Denmark and Finland dominate the British and American orchestral scene. Interest in the old masters Sibelius and Grieg is soaring and progressive pop artists like Björk continue to fascinate as much as they entertain. Andrew Mellor journeys to the heart of the Nordic cultural psyche. From Reykjavik to Rovaniemi, he examines the success of Nordic music’s performers, the attitude of its audiences, and the sound of its composers past and present—celebrating some of the most remarkable music ever written along the way. Mellor peers into the dark side of the Scandinavian utopia, from xenophobia and alcoholism to parochialism and the twilight of the social democratic dream. Drawing on a range of genres and firsthand encounters, he reveals that our fascination with Nordic societies and our love for Nordic music might be more intertwined than first thought.

This multi-disciplinary book explores the textual analysis of heavy metal lyrics written in languages other than English including Japanese, Yiddish, Latin, Russian, Hungarian, Austrian German, and Norwegian. Topics covered include national and minority identity, politics, wordplay, parody, local/global, intertextuality, and adaptation.