Peder Kaj Pedersen:

Phases and themes in the music teaching approach of Bernhard Christensen

This article gives a survey of the music teaching approach of the Danish composer Bemhard Christensen (b.1906). His approach is unique as it combines some ideas current in music education in central Europe around 1930 with jazz music. During the 1930's he composed a series of so called 'jazzoratorios' - similar to the german Schuloper but combining jazz idioms with texts in Danish and choosing subjects from the everyday lives of young people. They achieved a very high interest in Danish schools and were widely performed until around the 1970's. In the opinion of the authors, Christensen and the librettist Sven Møller Kristensen (1909-91), however they were used merely as entertainment. The concept and intention of letting the participants experience music based on rhythm and improvisation as a total experience of mind and body (inspired by the music and movement teacher Astrid Gøssel (1891-1975) was mostly not fulfilled, as the music was merely reproduced from the scores.

The music teaching approach of Bernhard Christensen has been identified with the jazzoratorios from the 1930's, but this article sees this period as a phase of crystallisation of ideas and concepts later to be refined. After the Second World War the music teaching concepts and approach was further developed within the milieu of a "free" reform school near Copenhagen. This later phase was not well publicised and was, for at number of years, known only in very small circles. Since the late 1970's it has grown in influence spreading through individual pupils of Bernhard Christensen as an inspiration to other millieus both in kindergarten, primary, secondary and higher levels in the Danish educational system.

This article discusses the music teaching approach of Bernhard Christensen in relation to the concept of"det musiske" (from german musisch) and the concept of situated learning. It looks at the approach as a cultural strategy and concludes with describing an evaluation of the approach at an international perspective. A chronology of Christensen's published childrens songs, his pieces for childrens choir, his pedagogical works and writings as well as interviews he has given on his approach is included, and the final list of references contains an exhaustive bibliography of writings on the music teaching approach of Christensen.