Nordhymn is a Scandinavian association of researchers interested in the hymn in northern Europe.
Scandinavian projects
Two major cooperative projects, focused on interests common to the entire region, have been completed:
- Karl-Johan Hansson, Folke Bohlin, and Jörgen Straarup, eds., Dejlig er jorden: Psalmens roll i nutida nordiskt kultur- och samhällsliv [Deilig er jorden: The role of hymns in contemporary Nordic culture and society] (Åbo, 2001). This project focused on the popular hymn “Deilig er jorden.”
- Sven-Åke Selander and Karl-Johan Hansson, eds., Martin Luthers psalmer i de nordiska folkens liv [Martin Luther’s hymns in the life of the Nordic peoples] (Lund, 2008).
Research symposia
A semiannual research symposium, usually held in March and October, brings together hymnologists from northern Europe for specific topics. These symposia have taken place mainly in Lund, but are occasionally held in other places in the region: Faroe Islands (2000); Seljord, Norway (2002); Løgumkloster, Denmark (2004); Lund and Uppsala, Sweden (2008–18); Trondheim, Norway (2001, 2018), Helsinki, Finland (2016).
Symposium topics (selected)
- Overviews of hymnological topics, cataloguing, electronic data acquisition
- Nordic hymnological challenges
- Anders Forstenson seminars and Taizé songs
- New hymnbooks
Next symposium
The next symposium will be held in Trondheim in September 2018. To register to participate, with or without making a presentation, please contact Anna Maria Böckerman (am.bockerman@gmail.com) or Mattias Lundberg (mattias.lundberg@musik.uu.se).
Local projects
In addition, Nordhymn encourages smaller research groups to undertake projects that do not necessarily include all countries in northern Europe.
Board
The current chair is Anna Maria Böckerman, and the secretary is Mattias Lundberg, both of whom are IAH members. An informal board is chosen from leading hymnologists in the respective countries.