Jakob Davidsen Discusses His New Song Cycle
BY DAVID DEBOOR CANFIELD
It seems clear that Danish composer Jakob Davidsen has a special affinity for the medium of the song cycle given that both of the CDs reviewed in Fanfare feature only works of this genre. I caught up with him in July of 2026 to probe him on his musical development and focus on his work under review in this issue.
Jakob, it’s nice to have this opportunity to interview the man behind the music that I’ve enjoyed so much! Let us begin by discussing your background. Denmark is such a musical country, but how and when did you decide that you would seek a career as a composer? What other earlier composers or musicians were especially influential upon you as you were developing your craft in composition and piano?

It was quite early in my childhood that I discovered that music had to be an important part of my life. I started out on the piano and was very much influenced by the American jazz pianist, Bill Evans. At the same time, I began composing some small pieces of music, and I had an open-minded piano teacher who gave me guidance in this new endeavor. Then, at the age of about 18, I started to study composition with the Danish composer Bo Holten, while still working on finding my own voice at the piano. Holten opened my musical horizons, and introduced me to Steve Reich, Per Nørgaard, Maurice Ravel, and Olivier Messiaen. Ravel and Messiaen very soon became strong musical influences, as they still are today.

Geographically and by population, Denmark is small and yet has produced an incredible number of world-class composers such as Nielsen, Riisager, Bentzon, Gade, Hartmann, Holmboe, Langgaard, and countless others. How do you account for the incredible contribution by the Danes to Western art music?

I am not sure why it is so. As you say Denmark is a very small country with a rather small music
community. A lot of the earlier “Danish” composers such as C. E. F. Weyse and J. P. A. Schultz were in fact Germans who came to work at the court or in the churches. So, we have a long tradition for integrating composers and artists into our community, and after a while they became Danes. At the same time, we have a very strong tradition of folksongs and lifelong education in the Folk High School movement. This has fostered a strong national identity and at the same time an open mind to things coming from the outside. Furthermore, we have a very strong educational system funded by the state that serves to secure a high level of teaching music. Even though our music community is quite small and close-knit, it is also diverse and open-minded.

How do you see your own music fitting into the cultural history of your country?

Even though my music definitely fills a niche, there is still room for it in the small but diverse Danish music community. Our composers may work in very different genres but we often know each other and each other’s music. I myself have also thrived from both the Folk High School movement and the open-mindedness to music from outside of Denmark.

In regard to your present CD: first of all, am I correct in assuming that art songs have a special place in your heart?

Yes, definitely. It is also a genre that is quite natural for me to work in. Often, the poetry on which I base my music shows me the way forward for the music itself. All I have to do is to be patient and let the music flow. This sounds as though it might be an easy task, but you can’t force anything and patience is required in order to allow the material to work itself out for a very long time lest it crumble or disappear.

I’m sure other readers (beyond me) will be a bit puzzled by the title of your song cycle featured here. Could you please explain it to us?

The individual and the entire tissue is the title of the last poem in the song cycle. It is an exploration of Ursula Andkjær Olsen about how everything is connected on both inside and outside. Even though you as a person are an entity and an individual, you are also connected to and part of the endless entity of the world.

Ah, that makes sense! How did you get to know her? You have set the poetry of Ursula Andkjær Olsen on at least three occasions. What has attracted you to her writing?

I have known Ursula Andkjær Olsen since I was a child. Both of our fathers were music teachers at the same high school, and they became friends outside school. I first got to know her poetry 15 years ago, and at first, I didn’t really get it. But after a while it really hit me, and I think that it is the depth and virtuosity of her writing (combined with a bit of absurdity and humor), that attracts me.

You also by now have utilized soprano Signe Asmussen for the recordings of three of your song cycles. Did you have her voice in mind when you wrote these works?

The five middle parts of the song cycle were originally written for another singer. But when the last two songs completed the cycle, it was clear to me that it had to be Signe Asmussen who should sing it. Signe means so much to me and my music. Apart from being an amazing singer, she understands my music like no other.

The instrumental makeup of your Jakob Davidsens Kammerat Orkester varies between the two CDs of your music that have been reviewed in Fanfare. Do you perform concerts as well?
The instrumentation changes a bit from time to time, but it is the music of the project, concert or recording. that dictates the forces involved. I have a circle of important singers and musicians with whom I have worked with for a long time and I always try to get them on board my current project. I write with every one of them directly in mind, so it is never easy to substitute anyone.

What other genres of music have you written works in?

I have written some chamber music, works for choir, big band, string quartet and instrumental duets. Apart from that, I have played a lot of improvised music in different settings.