August Composer of the Month – Pauline Hall

This month, we want to recognize the work of one of the most important female composers in history — Pauline Hall.

Pauline Hall was a Norwegian writer, composer, music critic, social activist, and one of the most prominent musical figures from the late 18th and early 19 centuries.

Let’s dive in and get to know more about the incredible Pauline Hall! 

Pauline Hall’s Personal Life

Pauline Hall was born in Hedmark, Norway, in 1890 as the son of Isak Muus Hall and Magdalena Catharina Agersborrg. Though her father owned and operated several pharmacies around the area and was not involved with music in any way, Pauline garnered an interest in music as a young child.

She began studying piano in 1908 with Johan Backer Lunde, a renowned composer of the time. By 1910, she began studying composition and theory, learning all she could from classical composers from music educator Catharinus Elling. By 1912, she moved to Paris, where she studied until 1914. It was quite obvious that this French city had a large impression on the then 22-year-old. While she initially planned on studying composition with George Caussade upon her arrival, she never made it that far.

However, during her time in Paris, she attended the theater and opera several times, absorbing the culture that she would continue revisiting throughout her entire life. 

It wasn’t until 1917 that she made her full debut as a composer, putting on her first full-length concert in Oslo one evening. While she initially got her start composing romances, her orchestral works are what truly solidified her in musical history.

Arguably, one of her most famous pieces was Verlaine Suite, which she composed in 1929. Many music appreciators say it was one of the most significant and influential pieces in her musical library. 

Hall gained most of her inspiration from French literature and impressionism, which was quite interesting, as it wasn’t until the 1930s that the sentiment of romanticism would become popular in Norway. It was because of this reason that Hall found it quite difficult to introduce the idea of new styles to Norway’s music scene. 

Beyond her work in the orchestral realm, Hall composed several pieces of music for stage productions and even more choral works. Throughout her career, she kept close to the theatre, translating several major works into Norwegian, such as Arthur Honegger’s Le Roi David and Igor Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale. 

She translated Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s The Threepenny Opera before staging and directing it in 1930. During this time, Hall also took on the role of the conductor and instructor of the play during its premiere in Oslo.

In 1932, she started a vocal quintet, which she referred to as Pauline Hall’s vocal quintet. With this quintet, she wrote music for radio. However, when 1934 rolled around, she became a prominent music critic, working for Dagbladet, a prominent daily newspaper in Oslo. Hall would continue working as a music critic for this newspaper until 1964.

Hall was renowned for her ability to promote modern music, though she was also notorious for her criticisms of superficial national composers. 

In 1938, she began working with the International Society for Contemporary Music, where she became the founding chairwoman of Ny Musikk, the Norwegian sector of the institution. From 1952 to 1953, she served as the president of ISCM International. She would continue working as the Ny Musikk chair until 1961, eventually getting replaced by Finn Mortensen, a successful composer. 

Hall died in Oslo in 1969 and was buried at Vestre Granlund. 

The Influence of Pauline Hall’s Music

Throughout her career, Hall composed several orchestral works, chamber pieces, vocal works, and music for theater and film. In the late 1930s, she became a powerhouse in Norway’s music scene. 

Many music historians agree that without Hall, Norway would not have experienced modernism and romanticism as soon as it did. In essence, Hall was a driving and unifying force, using motive and the power of opposition to create a dialogue that crossed borders. 

From private concerts in homes to the world music festival in 1953, she consistently took the humanistic approach to music and kept her standard for creativity high.

 

Notable Facts

• In 1938, Pauline Hall received the King’s Medal or Merit in gold.
• In open radio debates on music from the U.S., Hall would often defend jazz, which was then a primarily black genre.
• Hall often stated she was an internationalist, opposing the views of strong Norwegian nationalists