The Melancholic Image of the Northerner in Hans Abrahamsen’s Works

Abstract

In the present cultural context, the concept of melancholy is seldom employed and, given its dual or even contradictory meanings, is challenging to discern. The phenomenon of melancholy is often described as a mood, an emotion, or a disease and is characterised by different levels, including emotional, creative, resistance, existential, and pathological. It also reveals philosophical and artistic interpretations that frequently juxtapose melancholy with the aesthetic categories of nostalgia and silence. The broad expression of the characteristics of melancholy is specific not only to individuals but also to certain groups, historical periods, and other aesthetic categories. In this case, melancholy is associated with the concept of Nordic music and has been used to characterise the creative output of the Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen. It proposes that, due to the identified specific connotations of Nordic nature and their links to the phenomenon of melancholy, this can be seen as an indication of Abrahamsen’s distinctive creative prototype. The work simultaneously opens up the ambiguity of the phenomenon of melancholy and the concept of Nordic music, thus encouraging a wide interpretative field.