The project ‘Swedish Musical Heritage: Composers’ biographies’ has been a part of the Kungliga Musikaliska akademien’s (the Royal Swedish Academy of Music) project Levande musikarv (Swedish Musical Heritage), whose aim is to make older Swedish music available that is no longer protected by copyright (limited to 70 years after the composer’s death). Central to this project are works that are published in critical editions on the Web available for free downloading. To aid in the interpretations of these often unknown works, there is a need for musico-historical contexts, that is to say, composer biographies. It is this endeavour, to produce biographies of composers in Sweden from earlier times, that is the focus of the recently completed infrastructure project.

Objective of the project
In our application for funds, we expected to be able to produce about 400 biographies of composers for the cost included in the budget. The project was granted a sum lower than that requested, which is why with the start of the project in January 2013, the target number was revised to around 300 biographies. Today, with the completion of the project, we can ascertain that 290 composers’ biographies have been published – in both Swedish and English – in Levande musikarv’s publicly available database.

One significant change has been made during the project. The time limit for a composer’s most recent year of death – according to the project plan – was set at 1945, in accordance with the definitive copyright limit of 70 years after death. During the work on the project, this position was reconsidered. Instead, it was decided to use 1965 as the date limit. The reason for moving the date forward was, above all, that the biographical texts are expected to remain current for a long time, and that during this time, the 70-year limit would also be moving forward. Another result of moving the time frame ahead is that some of the modernist composers could be included.

Before moving ahead with a new date limit, we contacted the appropriate officials at the funding organisation, the Riksbankens jubileumsfond (The Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences), which gave the project the green light to make the change.

Project Outcomes
The project’s publication of 290 biographical texts about older Swedish composers, in both Swedish and English, is an accomplishment to celebrate. The names of most of the composers are unknown but important figures for many musicologists. We venture to say that overall, the combined texts provide a new image of Swedish music history; a broader and more richly detailed picture that comprises far more than those names that commonly appear in overviews of music history. Overall, the texts provide a good picture of the music scene outside of Stockholm, which otherwise dominates existing accounts. They also convey knowledge of musical milieus that are not acknowledged in the musicological research – an example is the Krigsakademien (the War Academy) at Karlberg, and the generally ignored musical importance of military regiments. Furthermore, the biographical texts give a good idea of the contributions of female composers within Swedish music history. We have laid a special emphasis on describing the country’s composers of the female gender.

The task of the authors was to not only provide the anticipated biography. They were also asked to produce an extensive bibliography, an overview of sources and not least of all, a list of each composer’s musical works. All of these components were intended for publication in the Levande musikarv’s database. The list of works has shown itself to be a very valuable resource, something we did not realize at the beginning of the project. Providing an overview of each composer’s creative output, the list is usually more extensive – and more varied – than was previously known. These compilations therefore make it possible to follow a composer’s development, the spread of compositional styles, the choices of authored texts set to music by composers, and they show how music is related to various environments. The lists of works are, in conclusion, highly useful for music history research.

Yet another notable positive result is the good response from the music history experts who were asked to take part in the project. No less than 60 researchers – from Ph.D. students to senior scholars – have authored the 290 biographies. The effort to engage doctoral students was initiated so that the project could also teach younger researchers the art of writing authoritative but broadly accessible texts about Swedish music history. Most of the authors are, for obvious reasons, Swedish. However, among their ranks are a handful of researchers from outside of Sweden who, however, specialize in Swedish music history. Although the project did not expressly assume that original research would be involved, many authors gladly put in a great deal of time in the archive. And so, there is quite of bit of previously unknown information in the biographical texts.

Unforeseen technical and methodological problems
We cannot say that any technical problems have cropped up. However, as work on the project has progressed, we have become increasingly aware of the lack of permanency of electronic publishing. As long as the structure of the database is up to date and well maintained, there are no clouds on the horizon. But the database’s structure will necessarily age and become out of date. Despite assurances from the Musikaliska akademien of continued investment in Levande musikarv, no one at this time can promise the future status of the database.

As a precautionary measure, a good selection of the published biographies will be given out as thematic anthologies, available through print-on-demand. The Akademiens Publikationsnämnd (the academy’s publication board) has decided to move forward with this effort, which will be launched during the coming spring.

The project leaders have encountered no notable methodological problems. On the contrary, we consider our approach to have been successful. Our estimation of the project’s successful design and implementation has led us to share our experiences with fellow musicologists. We have done this in the form of panels during three of our field’s yearly national conference, ‘Musikvetenskap idag’. These panels have consisted of the project’s editors along with two to three authors. During the panels we not only reviewed the motivations and processes used to further the project, but also offered critical perspectives on our own work. Additionally we gave a panel presentation at the 2015 ‘Nordic Musicological Congress’ in Aarhus. Our presentation was, after being peer-reviewed, selected for publication in the on-line journal, Danish Musicology Online – follow the link below.

Integration of the project within the organisation and how the project will be carried forward
The Musikaliska akademien runs the project, Levande musikarv, which according to current plans will continue for at least three more years – depending on funding. It is implemented in collaboration with the Musik- och teaterbiblioteket (the Music and Theatre Library of Sweden), Svensk music – a part of the Swedish Performing Rights Society, and Sveriges Radio (Radio Sweden). The library’s role is to identify and scan the sheet music selected for publication. Svensk music provides – for the cost of production – on-demand copies of printed scores, and parts for larger works (symphonies, operas, etc.) – in other words, scores that, for practical reasons, are not suitable for downloading in A4 format. And finally, Sveriges Radio records and broadcasts an agreed-upon number of works that have been published within the project.

The Kungliga Musikaliska akademien, through its board of directors, has expressed a willingness to take long-term responsibility for Levande musikarv, in other words to convert it from a project into an integral part of the academy’s activities. There are several motives for this viewpoint. One motivation is the good reception of both the project’s editions and its texts. Downloading of the published scores has exceeded expectations, while at the same time, there are clear signs that many of the published works are finding their way into the concert repertoire. In order to support the dissemination of works and texts, the academy has arranged for a group of young musicians to visit music schools and preparatory music courses, presenting a selection of works as well as the project. The efforts to make older Swedish music available in a modern form have, in short, been very successful.

Another factor motivating the wish to make the Levande musikarv permanent is the steadily dwindling resources of two central organizations. The Musik- och teaterbiblioteket and Svensk musik have the responsibility of supplying scores for Swedish compositions, but are increasingly less able to cope with the task. In the long run, Levande musikarv can meet the existing need, and even increase interest in this repertoire.

A third reason for establishing the project permanently is the possibility of making Swedish music accessible to an international group of researchers, practitioners and those generally interested in music.

The academy would like to, by its own initiative, broaden Levande musikarv’s mandate by including works still under copyright protection, perhaps completely removing the time limit. This public database would then become a portal that can meet the overall demand for copies of Swedish compositions.

New research questions generated by the project
As previously mentioned, writing of the composers’ biographies has meant that much previously unknown information has come to light. This fact, has in turn, awakened interest for further research, both among the project managers and the authors. Several articles have grown out of this interest, as well as applications for external research funding. There is no lack of ideas. During meetings with the authors, initiated by the project managers, the question of continued research has been central. It is also notable that some authors, following the publications of our composers’ biographies, have been asked by the Svenskt biografisk lexicon (the Dictionary of Swedish National Biography) to write articles about the composers in question, and several have used their acquired knowledge about certain composers to write concert program introductions.

Another, and more important idea is to build upon the completed project by adding biographical texts of more recent composers in Sweden, complemented with bibliographies, source overviews and lists of works. With the undoubted success that this completed project has had, there is every reason to utilise the experience, work models, the network of authors and other assets to create a coherent portal for composed Swedish music – older and newer. An application for just such an infrastructure project has been submitted.

Links to our own Website

Swedish Musical Heritage

Writing Composer Biographies in the project Swedish Musical Heritage in Danish Musicology Online