PAUL J. CHRISTIANSEN
Robert D. Reynolds
Dec. 6, 1997
For more information:
DAN ANDERSON, News Bureau Director
(218) 299-3642 (office); (701) 235-7921 (home)
PAUL J. CHRISTIANSEN
Paul J. Christiansen, who rose to international prominence as
conductor of The Concordia Choir at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.,
died Friday in his Moorhead home. He was 83.
Christiansen conducted The Concordia Choir for 49 years, building
a reputation of excellence as a choral music educator and composer. His
choirs toured the world, performing in the great concert halls of the
United States and Europe, but the highest acclaim was reserved for the
magnificent Concordia Christmas Concert, which Christiansen helped create
each year for thousands of faithful choral music fans in the Upper
Midwest.
Christiansen conducted nationwide choral schools and became a
guiding influence for generations of school and church choral programs.
His numerous compositions and arrangements continue to challenge and
uplift choirs and audiences, bringing inspiration to millions who have
listened to his work in concert and on recordings.
Dr. Paul Dovre, president of Concordia College, said, "We have
lost a unique artist and a truly outstanding educator. I believe it is
impossible to overstate the role of Paul J. Christiansen in setting
quality standards for the college and the field of choral music. His works
were full of energy and were wide ranging in sense and feel. When one
thinks of the sensitive tone of such chorales as "The King of Love," the
driving energy of "Prayers of Steel," the sense of excitement of "Be a New
and Different Person," and the spiritual inspiration of the choir's
signature piece, "Beautiful Savior," one gains an appreciation for the
scope of Paul J. Christiansen's art.
"Paul shared high standards, deep commitments and a full heart
with us. He possessed the soul of a poet, the vision of a prophet and the
heart of a disciple - gifts of the Spirit. Thousands of enriched lives,
national recognition for the college, stirring music, and hundreds of
conductors and musicians across the land are his legacy."
Paul J. Christiansen followed in the footsteps of his father, F.
Melius Christiansen, founder of the St. Olaf Choir at Northfield, Minn.,
who is considered the creator of the a cappella style of choral music
practiced throughout the world today. F. Melius Christiansen came to the
United States from Larvik, Norway, and began training Paul J. at the age
of five at the family piano. Radio broadcasts of symphony concerts were
common entertainment in his boyhood home, and Paul J. developed a keen
interest in intonation and tone color.
After graduating from St. Olaf College, Christiansen continued his
graduate study at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Eastman School of
Music, Rochester, N.Y. Although his original intention was to become a
concert pianist, he gave up his dream and turned to his greater love of
conducting and composing, accepting an invitation to chair the music
department at Concordia College at the age of 22. In addition to the chair
duties, he directed the orchestra, conducted the choir, taught music
theory courses, gave piano lessons and tuned the pianos.
In 1940, in collaboration with Concordia art professor Cyrus
Running, Christiansen enhanced the Concordia Christmas Concert by using a
new theme each year to present a worshipful story set against the backdrop
of a huge, hand-painted mural. Audiences responded enthusiastically,
filling concert halls at the college and at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis
for several performances each December.
The choir's legendary two-hour rehearsals found Christiansen
extracting precision from his students, instilling in them a burning will
to succeed, however high the price. Upwards of 400 students would audition
for the 60-65 places in his choir, knowing full well they would give their
hearts and souls to this man in exchange for the opportunity to experience
the exhilaration of singing a perfectly executed phrase.
"I'm so anxious for a beautiful tone," said Christiansen. "That
has been my ideal for the choir P to maintain that level of sound that a
major symphony gets." Christiansen's ideal has women's voices serving as
woodwind instruments and men as brass in what's been admiringly called the
Concordia Sound."
Although he arranged hundreds of pieces and wrote uncounted
compositions throughout his career, Christiansen remained a private
person, carrying a sense of Nordic modesty and shyness along with a fierce
determination to succeed. With his shock of crisp, white hair, his square
jaw and rough-hewn face, he maintained the family trait of strong
self-discipline.
During an eastern tour in 1951, a New York critic hailed the
choir's Carnegie Hall concert, crediting it with attaining the ideal of
perfect execution. During the 1957 tour, The Concordia Choir became the
first to sing in the rotunda of the nation's Capitol. The 1958 tour was a
smashing success, as the choir performed at 32 full-house concerts in
Norway. The choir received so much attention that when it arrived for a
performance in Holland, the fire brigade and police had to handle the
crowd at the concert hall. In performances at Amsterdam, Germany, the
World's Fair in Belgium and the Vienna Music Festival in Austria, the
choir received rave reviews and standing ovations.
Christiansen led his choirs on six tours of Norway and received
the St. Olav Medal, the Norwegian government's honor for persons living
outside of Norway. He received honorary degrees from Muhlenberg College,
Allentown, Pa.; Capital University, Columbus, Ohio; Adams State College,
Alamosa, Colo.; and St. Olaf College. He was the recipient of awards form
the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn., and the Red River Valley
Historical Society, Moorhead.
Christiansen stepped down as conductor of The Concordia Choir in
1986 and retired after 50 years as a member of the music faculty in 1987.
In October of 1995, Concordia named the college's recital hall in his
honor and unveiled a bronze sculpture of Christiansen's likeness. In
January 1997, Rene Clausen, conductor of The Concordia Choir, was named
the first holder of the Paul J. and Eleanor Christiansen Chair in Choral
Music, established through the leadership and input of choir alumni.
"The gift of Paul J. Christiansen derives from his uncanny ability
to create music which directly penetrates to the heart of its listeners,"
said Clausen. "A man of deep conviction, he used the compositional tools
of music to enhance and magnify the message of the text he is setting, and
in so doing elevates the spirit of both those who sing and listen to his
music."
Christiansen's death came just hours before the first performance
of the 71st annual Concordia Christmas Concert in Concordia's Memorial
Auditorium. The concerts continue through this weekend and at Orchestra
Hall in Minneapolis Dec. 11.
Wright Funeral Home in Moorhead is handling arrangements for the
memorial service, which is scheduled for 4 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 9, at
Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead. A rehearsal for an alumni and friends
choir will be held at 2:30 p.m., Tuesday at Trinity.
Christiansen is survived by his wife, Eleanor, and five children:
Liv (Jim) Seemann, Burlington, Vt.; Sigurd (Karen) Christiansen, Seguin,
Texas; Ingrid (John) Kretzmann, Chicago, Il.; Rolf (Barb) Christiansen,
Hawley, Minn.; Erik Christiansen, Stillwater, Minn.; 10 grandchildren; 1
great grandchild; a sister, Elsa Wycisk, Denver, Colo.; and a
sister-in-law, Bertha Christiansen, Moorhead.
(dja)
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Daniel J. Anderson e-mail: daan...@cord.edu
News Bureau Director phone: (218) 299-3642
Concordia College fax: (218) 299-3646
901 8th St. S.
Moorhead, MN 56562 Web site: http://www.cord.edu
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Gordon A. Moe 218-299-3285x3304
Manager of Music Organizations FAX 218-299-3058
Concordia College 901 8th St S Moorhead MN 56562
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