Svendsen, Johan

Norsk springdans

(Springdands)

Norwegian Folk Dance

JSV 73

We know from Johan Svendsen’s Almanac of 1878 that a Springdans was completed in London on  20 July that year, in London. Almost two years later, on 25 May 1880, Svendsen conducted a Springdans in an orchestral concert in the large hall of the Old Masonic Lodge in Christiania (Oslo). This Springdans is quite probably the one found in the autograph score at the National Library in Oslo titled Norsk Springdans. In the biography F. Benestad & D. Schjelderup-Ebbe: Johan Svendsen, mennesket og kunstneren, Aschehoug, Oslo, 1990, the authors maintain that the music of this score does not build on folk tune material such as Svendsen’s earlier Norwegian Rhapsodies, but was probably composed by Svendsen himself. Nonetheless, the melodic material of the dance can be found in Svendsen’s notebook filled with folk tunes, as No. 19 Springdands (optegnet av Johan Svendsen) [written down by Johan Svendsen].

See also the work Norwegian Dances for Large Orchestra (lost).

Composition: 20 July 1878.

London

Allegro

Key: D major

Extent: ca. 4 min.

Sources

A: Score, autograph

[Classification: notated music, manuscript, autograph, score, printer's copy]

17 pages; 27,5x35,5 cm.

Front page: Svendsen Johan / Norsk Springdans.
The title is written in ink, probably by the composer, while the name of the composer is written in pencil, probably not by him.

Title page: Entered in pencil (not by Svendsen, probably) in the upper right hand corner: Hr organist Spielmann [?].
In pencil (probably not Svendsen’s handwriting): Johan Svendsen / Norsk Springdans / No. II

Brown cover
Hand ruled music paper, 18 staves
Pagination: 1–17
The planned page disposition for the printing process was incorporated into the score. Nonetheless, the work was never printed.

Written in ink (Johan Svendsen). Additions in pencil, red crayon and blue crayon.

N-Onm (National Library of Norway, Oslo, Norway) Mus.ms. 18. Facsimile

Provenance: In the protocol of the Library: *Wilhelm Hansens musikforlag v O.M. Sandvik. Den økonomiske utnyttelse (utgivelse) forbeholdt giveren. [The donor retains the publishing rights]..