Siegfried blows his horn (1911) by Arthur Rackham, from Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods by Richard Wagner

"Sigurd proofs the sword Gram" (1901) by Johannes Gehrts.

Siegfried's Departure from Kriemhild, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, ca. 1843

Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr) is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. The earliest extant representations for his legend come in pictorial form from seven runestones in Sweden^[1] and most notably the Ramsund carving (c. 1000) and the Gök Runestone (11th century).

As Siegfried, he is one of the heroes in the German Nibelungenlied, and Richard Wagner's operas Siegfried and Götterdämmerung.

As Sivard Snarensven(d) he was the hero of several medieval Scandinavian ballads.

The name Sigurðr is not the same name as the German Siegfried. The Old Norse form would have been Sigruþr, a form which appears in the Ramsund carving that depicts the legend.^[2] Sivard is another variant name of Sigurðr; these name forms all share the first element Sig-, which means victory.

Völsunga saga[link]

In the Völsunga saga, Sigurd was supposedly the posthumous son of Sigmund and his second wife, Hiordis. Sigmund dies in battle when he attacks Odin (who is in disguise), and Odin shatters Sigmund's sword. Dying, Sigmund tells Hiordis of her pregnancy and bequeaths the fragments of his sword to his unborn son.

Hiordis marries King Alf, and then Alf decides to send Sigurd to Regin as a foster. Regin tempts Sigurd to greed and violence by first asking Sigurd if he has control over Sigmund's gold. When Sigurd says that Alf and his family control the gold and will give him anything he desires, Regin asks Sigurd why he consents to a lowly position at court. Sigurd replies that he is treated as an equal by the kings and can get anything he desires. Then Regin asks Sigurd why he acts as stableboy to the kings and has no horse of his own. Sigurd then goes to get a horse. An old man (Odin in disguise) advises Sigurd on choice of horse, and in this way Sigurd gets Grani, a horse derived from Odin's own Sleipnir.

Finally, Regin tries to tempt Sigurd by telling him the story of the Otter's Gold. Regin's father was Hreidmar, and his two brothers were Ótr and Fafnir. Regin was a natural at smithing, and Ótr was natural at swimming. Ótr used to swim at Andvari's waterfall, where the dwarf Andvari lived. Andvari often assumed the form of a pike and swam in the pool.

One day, the Æsir saw Ótr with a fish on the banks, thought him an otter, and Loki killed him. They took the carcass to the nearby home of Hreidmar to display their catch. Hreidmar, Fafnir, and Regin seized the Æsir and demanded compensation for the death of Ótr. The compensation was to stuff the body with gold and cover the skin with fine treasures. Loki got the net from the sea giantess Rán, caught Andvari (as a pike), and demanded all of the dwarf's gold. Andvari gave the gold, except for a ring. Loki took this ring, too, although it carried a curse of death on its bearer. The Æsir used this gold to stuff Ótr's body with, and covered his skin in gold. They then covered the last exposed place (a whisker) with the ring of Andvari. Afterwards, Fafnir killed Hreidmar and took the gold.

Sigurd agrees to kill Fafnir, who has turned himself into a dragon in order to be better able to guard the gold. Sigurd has Regin make him a sword, which he tests by striking the anvil. The sword shatters, so he has Regin make another. This also shatters. Finally, Sigurd has Regin make a sword out of the fragments that had been left to him by Sigmund. The resulting sword, Gram, cuts through the anvil. To kill Fafnir the dragon, Regin advises him to dig a pit, wait for Fafnir to walk over it, and then stab the dragon. Odin, posing as an old man, advises Sigurd to dig trenches also to drain the blood, and to bathe in it after killing the dragon; bathing in Fafnir's blood confers invulnerability. Sigurd does so and kills Fafnir; Sigurd then bathes in the dragon's blood, which touches all of his body except for one of his shoulders where a leaf was stuck. Regin then asked Sigurd to give him Fafnir's heart for himself. Sigurd drinks some of Fafnir's blood and gains the ability to understand the language of birds. Birds advise him to kill Regin, since Regin is plotting Sigurd's death. Sigurd beheads Regin, roasts Fafnir's heart and consumes part of it. This gives him the gift of "wisdom" (prophecy).

Sigurd met Brynhildr, a "shieldmaiden," after killing Fafnir. She pledges herself to him but also prophesies his doom and marriage to another. (In Völsunga saga, it is not clear that Brynhild is a Valkyrie or in any way supernatural.)

Sigurd went to the court of Heimar, who was married to Bekkhild, sister of Brynhild, and then to the court of Gjúki, where he came to live. Gjuki had three sons and one daughter by his wife, Grimhild. The sons were Gunnar, Hogni and Guttorm, and the daughter was Gudrun. Grimhild made an "Ale of Forgetfulness" to force Sigurd to forget Brynhild, so he could marry Gudrun. Later, Gunnar wanted to court Brynhild. Brynhild's bower was surrounded by flames, and she promised herself only to the man daring enough to go through them. Only Grani, Sigurd's horse, would do it, and only with Sigurd on it. Sigurd exchanged shapes with Gunnar, rode through the flames, and won Brynhild for Gunnar.

Some time later, Brynhild taunted Gudrun for having a better husband, and Gudrun explained all that had passed to Brynhild and explained the deception. For having been deceived and cheated of the husband she had desired, Brynhild plots revenge. First, she refuses to speak to anyone and withdraws. Eventually, Sigurd was sent by Gunnar to see what was wrong, and Brynhild accuses Sigurd of taking liberties with her. Gunnar and Hogni plot Sigurd's death and enchant their brother, Guttorm, to a frenzy to accomplish the deed. Guttorm kills Sigurd in bed, and Brynhild kills Sigurd's three year old son Sigmund (named for Sigurd's father). Brynhild then wills herself to die, and builds a funeral pyre for Sigurd, Sigurd's son, Guttorm (killed by Sigurd) and herself. Sigurd and Brynhild had the daughter Aslaug who married Ragnar Lodbrok.

Sigurd and Gudrun are parents to the twins Sigmund (named after Sigurd's father) and Svanhild.

Þiðrekssaga[link]

The Old Norse Þiðrekssaga (chapters 152-168) relates a slightly different tale, with Regin as the dragon and Mimir as Regin's brother and foster-father to Sigurd. In this version, King Sigmund returns home from travel and hears that his wife Sisibe has been accused of illicit relations with a thrall. Although the accusation is a lie told by two of his noblemen whose lustful advances Sisibe rejected, Sigmund believes it and orders the noblemen to take her into the forest and kill her. One is moved by pity for her, and the two fight. As they fight, Sisibe gives birth to a child (Sigmund's) and places it in a crystal vessel, which is kicked into a river and travels downstream. Sisibe dies; the vessel is found by a doe, which nurses the infant. Later, the young child is found by a wise smith of the forest, Mimir who names him Sigurd (although a few times the saga calls him Sigfred) and takes him as his own. When the child grows large and willful, Mimir asks his brother, Regin, a dragon, to kill Sigurd. But Sigurd slays the dragon and then kills his disloyal foster-father.^[3][4]

In chapters 225-230, Sigurd marries Gunnar's sister Grimhild, despite having promised to marry Brynhild. Later, Gunnar marries Brynhild, but she resists his attempts to consummate the marriage because she loves only Sigurd. As a favor to his brother-in-law, Sigurd sleeps with Brynhild, who is thereafter unable to resist Gunnar, as her strength came from her virginity.^[5][6]

Nibelungenlied[link]

In the Middle High German Nibelungenlied, Sîfrit (Siegfried) is a prince of Xanten who is later revealed to have a heroic background including killing a dragon and winning lands and an immense fortune from a pair of brothers. From bathing in the dragon's blood, he is invulnerable except for a spot on his back where a leaf adhered to his skin. Determined to marry Kriemhild, the sister of King Gunther of the Burgundians, he assists Gunther in wooing Brünhild, queen of Iceland, using his cloak of invisibility to enable Gunther to beat the phenomenally strong queen at javelin throwing, boulder tossing, and the long jump. He also single-handedly conquers Nibelungenland to provide troops in case Brünhild tries to kill Gunther and his kin. Finally married to Kriemhild, he then wrestles Brünhild into submission, again invisible, so that Gunther can consummate his marriage. He gives Kriemhilt Brünhild's ring and belt. After some years, the two queens quarrel over precedence and Kriemhild shows Brünhild the ring and belt and calls her Siegfried's concubine. Siegfried and Gunther make peace but Gunther's courtier Hagen von Tronje plots to kill Siegfried and Gunther and his brothers go along with the plan. Hagen has Kriemhild place a cross on the spot on Siegfried's back where he is vulnerable, and spears him when he is drinking from a stream on a hunting trip, thus fulfilling a prophecy that whomever Kriemhild marries will die violently. He throws Siegfried's treasure into the Rhine so that Kriemhild cannot raise an army. The second half of the epic concerns her revenge.

Archaeological record[link]

The Ramsund carving in Sweden

A sculpture of Sigurd fighting Fafnir by Constantin Dausch in Bremen, Germany.

The Ramsund carving depicts

1. how Sigurd is sitting naked in front of the fire preparing the dragon heart, from Fafnir, for his foster-father Regin, who is Fafnir's brother. The heart is not yet fully roasted, and when Sigurd touches it, he burns himself and sticks his finger into his mouth. As he has tasted dragon blood (some blood was on the heart), he starts to understand the birds' song.
2. The birds say that Regin will not keep his promise of reconciliation and will try to kill Sigurd, which causes Sigurd to cut off Regin's head.
3. Regin is dead beside his own head, his smithing tools with which he reforged Sigurd's sword Gram are scattered around him, and
4. Regin's horse is laden with the dragon's treasure.
5. is the previous event when Sigurd killed Fafnir, and
6. Ótr from the saga's beginning.

Other aspects of the legend are shown on the various Sigurd stones and the door portals from the Hylestad stave church.

Parallels in other legends[link]

There are parallels in several European myths and legends.

The sword Sigmund draws from Barnstock is similar to the sword drawn by King Arthur from the stone.

The story of Sigurd eating the heart of the dragon is very similar to the Irish story of Fionn mac Cumhail eating the Salmon of Wisdom he had been preparing for his mentor, Finn Eces.

Sigurd's invulnerability and his weak point (in the Nibelungenlied) are similar to those of the Greek hero Achilles, the Persian hero Esfandyar, and the Duryodhana story of India's Mahabharata epic.

Cultural impact[link]

Because dragons were seen as symbols of Satan in medieval typologies, the story of Sigurd slaying Fafnir was often depicted in Christian churches in Scandinavia.

Adaptations of the legend[link]

"Siegfried and the Famous Sword Balmung" from 1914.

• The best-known adaptation of the Sigurd legend is Richard Wagner's cycle of music dramas Der Ring des Nibelungen (written between 1848 and 1874). The Sigurd legend is the basis of Siegfried and contributes the stories of Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung.
• William Morris's epic poem Sigurd the Volsung (1876) is a major retelling of the story in English verse.
• In 1884 the French composer Ernest Reyer wrote the lesser-known opera Sigurd, which has the benefit of condensing the story into one evening, with equally stirring music.
• The illustrator Arthur Rackham drew 70 vibrant renderings of the story for the book Siegfried & The Twilight of the Gods, translated by Margaret Armour (1910).
• Arthur Peterson published a translation of the myth of Sigurd titled Andvari's Ring, in 1916.
• Fritz Lang and his then-wife Thea von Harbou adapted the story of Sigurd (called Siegfried) for the first part of their 1924 pair of silent films Die Nibelungen.
• This legend was also adapted into a movie, Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King (2004) (SyFy miniseries in 2006).
• Fantasy author Diana L. Paxson retold the story in her trilogy Wodan's Children: The Wolf and the Raven (1993), The Dragons of the Rhine (1995), and The Lord of Horses (1996).
• Stephan Grundy retold the story in his novel Rhinegold (1995).
• The Faroese viking/ folk metal band Týr, has a song named "Regin Smiður", which is based on the a Faroese kvæði in three parts, Sjúrðarkvæðið, which chronicles the life of Sigurd (Faroese: Sjúrður).
• An adaptation of the legend written in verse by Oxford philology professor and fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, was released in May, 2009.
• In the Soul Calibur series, a character named Siegfried Schtauffen is the main protagonist of the games. The sword Gram (mistranslated as "Glam") is one of his many selectable weapons.
• The Japanese animated series Saint Seiya presented an arc based on Norse mythology. The main character, Seiya, must fight against Siegfried, a knight whose background story is very similar to that of Sigurd—He killed the dragon Fafnir with a spear, but he did not eat his heart, instead, he was completely showered by its blood making him essentially immortal, except for a spot in his back, which was covered by a leaf, making it his only weak point. This arc was not present in the Manga version of Saint Seiya.
• Sigurd is a recurring character in various songs of the album Buch der Balladen by the German pagan folk band Faun.
• The game Infinite Undiscovery has this character as the father of the protagonist.
• In the Assassin's Creed game series, it is revealed that the sword in Sigfried's possession is in fact a Piece of Eden.
• Anders Breivik cited Sigurd as his code name in "Knights Templar" during his trial for murder in Norway, April 2012

Notes[link]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Siegfried

• Arminius
• Sigebert I
• Siegfried (opera)
• Sigurd (opera)

v t e The Völsung Cycle Attestations Volsunga saga · Poetic Edda · Norna-Gests þáttr · Skáldskaparmál People Attila · Brynhild · Granmar  · Gudrun · Gunnar · Helgi Hundingsbane · Högne · Siggeir · Sigmund · Signy · Sigurd · Sinfjötli · Svanhildr · Völsung Other figures Odin · Dwarves (Andvari · Hreiðmarr · Ótr · Regin) · Dragon (Fafnir) Objects Andvarinaut · Gram · Barnstokkr Related Nibelungenlied · Þiðrekssaga · Hagbard and Signy

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"Sigurd Jorsalfar" redirects here. For the orchestral suite by Edvard Grieg, see Sigurd Jorsalfar (Grieg).

Sigurd I "the Crusader"
Sigurd rides into Miklagard
King of Norway
Reign	1103–1130
Predecessor	Magnus Barefoot
Successor	Magnus the Blind and Harald Gille
Earl of Orkney
Reign	1098–1103
Predecessor	Paul and Erlend Thorfinnsson
Successor	Haakon Paulsson
King of Mann and the Isles
Reign	1102–1103
Predecessor	Magnus III
Successor	Lagmann
Consort	Blathmin O'Brien m. 1102; sep. 1103 Malmfred of Kiev m. 1116/20; sep. 1128 Cecilia m. 1128; wid. 1130
Issue
Kristin Sigurdsdatter Magnus the Blind
Full name
Sigurd Magnusson
Father	Magnus Barefoot
Mother	Tora (concubine)
Born	1090
Died	26 March 1130 Oslo
Burial	Hallvardskatedralen

Sigurd I Magnusson (c. 1090 – 26 March 1130), also known as Sigurd the Crusader (Old Norse: Sigurðr Jórsalafari, Norwegian: Sigurd Jorsalfar), was King of Norway from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his brother Eystein I of Norway (until Eystein died in 1123), has been regarded by historians as a golden age for the medieval Kingdom of Norway. He is otherwise famous for leading the Norwegian Crusade (1107–1110), earning the eponym "the Crusader".^[1][2]

Biography[link]

He was one of the three sons to King Magnus III, the other two being Øystein and Olaf; they all had different mothers and were all illegitimate sons of the king. Despite being illegitimate, all the sons of the king had an equal right to the throne, and to avoid feuds or war the three brothers co-ruled the kingdom from 1103.

He initially shared the throne with his brothers Øystein and Olav, but would rule alone from 1123, when Øystein died. Before being proclaimed King of Norway, he was also styled as King of Mann and the Isles and Earl of Orkney,^[3] although he would pass the Earl of Orkney title on to Haakon Paulsson, a son of Paul Thorfinnsson, who came all the way to Norway from Orkney.

Many historians have viewed Sigurd and Øystein's rule as a golden age for the medieval Kingdom of Norway. The country was able to flourish both in wealth and expansion,^[4] as well as gaining international recognition and prestige due to Sigurd's participation in the crusades.

Expedition with Magnus III[link]

In 1098, Sigurd accompanied his father, King Magnus III, on his expedition to the Orkney Islands, Hebrides and the Irish Sea. He was made Earl of Orkney the same year, following the swift removal of the incumbent Earls of Orkney, Paul and Erlend Thorfinnsson. He was also, apparently, made King of Mann and the Isles in that same year, following the overthrow of their king there by his father, Magnus. Although Magnus was not directly responsible for the death of the previous king of Mann and the Isles, he was the next ruler of the kingdom, most likely due to his conquest of the islands. This was the first time the kingdom had been under direct control by a Norwegian king. It is not certain whether Sigurd returned home with his father to Norway after the 1098 expedition; however, it is known that he was in Orkney when Magnus returned west in 1102 for his next expedition. While there, a marriage alliance was negotiated between Magnus and Muircheartach Ua Briain, who was High King of Ireland,^[5] one of the most powerful rulers in Ireland, as well as the ruler of Dublin. Sigurd was to marry Muirchertach's daughter Blathmin O'Brien, a young Irish princess and for a short period, Queen consort.^[6] However, when Magnus was ambushed and killed in Ulaid by an Irish army in 1103, the 14-year-old Sigurd returned to Norway along with the rest of the Norwegian army, leaving his child-bride behind, and became king together with his brothers Øystein and Olav. Upon arriving home back in Norway, he and his two brothers were proclaimed kings of Norway and would co-rule the kingdom together for some time. The expeditions conducted by Magnus were somewhat profitable to the Kingdom of Norway, as the many islands now under Norway would provide wealth, defenses and manpower. Sigurd would continue to rule the various islands his father had conquered until his death.

Norwegian Crusade[link]

King Sigurd rides into Constantinople with his remnant army.

In 1107, Sigurd was to lead a Norwegian crusade^[7] in support to the newly established crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, which had been founded after the First Crusade. At first it was disputed among the two kings, Øystein and Sigurd, about who should lead the contingent and who should remain home, to rule the kingdom. Sigurd was eventually chosen, possible because he was a more adequate and experienced traveler.^[8] By going on the crusade, he was the first European king to do so, and his crusader feats earned him the nickname Jorsalafari.^[1] He experienced action in Lisbon, various Mediterranean islands^[9] and Palestine. He would often fight the enemies himself, amongst his loyal soldiers and kinsmen; their battles were all victorious and with vast success, gaining large treasures and booty.^[10] On his way to Jerusalem (Jorsalaland) he visited King Roger II of Sicily in his castle at Palermo. Upon arriving in the Holy Land he was greeted by Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem. He received a warm welcome, and spent much time with the king there; the two kings even rode to the river Jordan, where Sigurd might even have been baptized.^[11] After their journey to the river, King Baldwin asked for Sigurd's help to conquer the coastal city of Sidon, to which he replied "that they had come for the purpose of devoting themselves to the service of Christ", and accompanied him to take the city of Sidon, which had been re-fortified by the Fatimids in 1098. The siege was a great success for the crusader forces, and the city was taken from the Fatimids on 5 December 1110. By order of Baldwin and the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Ghibbelin of Arles, a splinter was taken off the holy cross and given to Sigurd after the siege, as a token of friendship and as a relic for his heroic participation in the crusades. Thereafter, King Sigurd returned to his ships and made them ready to leave the Holy Land. They sailed north to the island Cyprus; and King Sigurd would stay there for a little while. Sigurd sailed into Constantinople (Miklagard), and would enter the city through the gate called the Gold Tower, riding in front of his men. He and his men would stay here for a while, and he would meet and spend a lot of time there with the Emperor.

Return to Norway[link]

King Sigurd and King Baldwin ride to the river Jordan.

Before leaving Constantinople, Sigurd gave all of his ships and many treasures away to the Byzantine Emperor. In return the emperor gave him many strong horses, for him and his fellow kinsmen. Sigurd planned to return to Norway over land, but there were few of his men who planned to return with him, many were to stay behind in the great city, to take up service for the emperor. The trip would take many years, and he would visit many countries on the road. Sigurd travelled, in a trip that supposedly would take around three years, from Bulgaria (Bolgaraland) and through Hungary (Ungararíki), Pannonia, Schwabia (Sváva), and Bavaria (Beiaraland) where he met with the Emperor Lothar of the Holy Roman Empire (Rómaborg). He later arrived in Denmark where he was greeted by King Niels of Denmark who eventually gave him a ship so that he could sail all the way to Norway.

After returning to Norway in 1111, Sigurd came back to a flourishing and prosperous kingdom. King Øystein had used all his energy and willpower to create a strong and stable country, and the church, especially, had gained on this.^[12] Sigurd made his capital in Konghelle (Kungälv in present-day Sweden) and built a strong castle there to live in, and he also kept the relic given to him by King Baldwin, a splinter reputed to be from the True Cross. In 1123, Sigurd once again set out to fight in the name of the church, this time to Småland in Sweden, where the inhabitants had renounced their Christian faith and were again worshipping their former gods. During Sigurd's reign, the tithe (a 10% tax to benefit the church) was introduced in Norway, which greatly strengthened the church in the country. Sigurd also founded the diocese of Stavanger because he was denied divorce by the bishop in Bergen, so he simply installed another bishop further south and had him perform the divorce instead.^[13]

Death[link]

Sigurd died in 1130 and was buried in Hallvard's church (Hallvardskirken) in Oslo. Sigurd and his Queen Malmfred (a daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev and granddaughter of King Inge I of Sweden) had a daughter, Kristin Sigurddatter, but no legitimate sons. This led to a power struggle following Sigurd's death between various illegitimate sons and other royal pretenders, which escalated into a lengthy and devastating civil war.

During this civil war era in Norway, which lasted from 1130 until 1240, there were several interlocked conflicts of varying scale and intensity. The background for these conflicts were the unclear Norwegian succession laws, social conditions and struggles between various groups of noblemen fighting for power. There were two main parties, the Bagler and Birkebeiner. The rallying point regularly was a royal son, or a person claimed by his followers to be a royal son, who was set up as the head figure of the party in question, to oppose the rule of a king from the contesting party. In the traditions of succession of the day, there was little or no difference between a legitimate and an illegitimate son of a king; the competence and popularity of the potential heir was supposed to be the deciding factor. This laid the ground-work for long feuds over who should rule the Kingdom of Norway in the 12th century and early 13th century.

See also[link]

• Monarchy of Norway
• List of Norwegian monarchs

Primary Sources[link]

Most of the information gathered about the saga of Sigurd and his brothers is taken from the Heimskringla, written by Snorri Sturluson around 1225. The accuracy of this work is still debated by scholars. In the 19th century, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson wrote an historical drama based on the life of the king, with incidental music composed by Edvard Grieg. Sigurd is also mentioned in various European sources.

References[link]

Other sources[link]

• Bergan, Halvor: Kong Sigurds Jorsalferd. Den unge kongen som ble Norges helt (Norgesforlaget, 2005) ISBN 82-91986-75-4

External links[link]

• Saga of Sigurd the Crusader and his brothers from the Heimskringla (English translation)
• "Sigurd I Magnusson Jorsalfare" (Translated into English from Norwegian)
• Tales of Sigurd the Crusader

Ancestry[link]

Sigurd Manfred Raschèr (pronounced 'Rah-sher') (15 May 1907 – 25 February 2001) was an American saxophonist of German birth. He became an important figure in the development of the 20th century repertoire for the classical saxophone.

Early life[link]

Sigurd Rascher was born in Elberfeld, Germany (now Wuppertal) where his father, Hans August Rascher (1880–1952), was temporarily stationed as a military physician. His schooling began in Arlesheim, Switzerland and continued in Stuttgart where he graduated from the first Waldorfschule. After having played piano for some time, he decided to study clarinet with Philipp Dreisbach at the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart (1928/1929) In an interview, Rasher said, "Obeying necessity, not following my inclination, I started to play saxophone in order to be in a dance band. As I did this for a couple of years, I became more and more unsatisfied. I started to practice furiously and slowly found out that it had more possibilities than was usually thought of."^[1]

Career in Europe[link]

In 1930 Rascher moved to Berlin where he was called upon when a saxophonist was needed to perform in the Philharmonic. This is where he met Edmond von Borck, composer and conductor, who then composed a concerto for him in 1931. This concerto was chosen to be performed at the General German Composers Festival in Hanover, Germany, in the summer of 1932. It was such a success that the Berlin Philharmonic, under the baton of Eugen Jochum, set an extra concert to be played in Berlin for October 1932. This was the first time in history that the Berlin Philharmonic had a saxophone soloist.^{[citation needed]} In the summer of 1933, Rascher performed the Borck concerto again in Strasbourg, France at the International Music Conference under Herman Scherchen.

As Hitler rose to power in 1933, Rascher's friend, Johan Bentzon, whom he had met in Strasbourg, invited him to Copenhagen, Denmark, where Rascher then taught at the Royal Danish Conservatory, 1934 also in Malmö, Sweden. Concert tours throughout Europe,(Norway, Italy, Spain, Poland,England, Hungary etc.) with the exception of Germany, followed, 1938 to Australia. In 1939 he moved to the United States.

Career in the United States[link]

Raschèr arrived in the United States in 1939 and made his American debut at Carnegie Hall on the 11th of November 1939 with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Sir John Barbirolli.^{[citation needed]} Soon thereafter he appeared as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky. He was the first saxophonist to appear as a soloist in a subscription concert with both orchestras.^{[citation needed]}

His career continued with solo appearances in Washington, D.C. and at New York City's Town Hall in the spring of 1940, which Toscanini attended and thereupon embraced Rascher. With war looming in Europe, he could not return to Germany. On the 4th of November 1941, his wife Ann Mari, of Swedish descent, joined him in the United States where they established their home on a small farm in the rural town of Shushan in northern New York, where they would reside for nearly 60 years.

Although he was born in Germany, publicity from the 1940s often refers to Raschèr as having come from Sweden. This reflected both his distaste for the Hitler regime, and reaction to American suspicion during that time of all things German. His international career as a soloist and his ability to gain residence and citizenship in many countries could have been damaged or destroyed if any suspicion arose about his background.

After World War II ended in 1945, Raschèr was invited to give concerts in Europe again, where he traveled for months on end, performing as soloist with many orchestras. As Raschèr's reputation grew in the United States, he also performed many orchestra concerts as soloist as well as with various university bands.

Raschèr went on to perform as soloist with more than 250 orchestras and wind ensembles worldwide, including concerts in Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada and the United States.

His last saxophone solo performance was playing the Glazounov Concerto with the Vermont Symphony in 1977, on the eve of his 70th birthday. He died in Shushan, New York in 2001, aged 93.

Relationship with composers and premieres of major works[link]

During Raschèr's life, 208 works for saxophone were dedicated to him, many counted as among the most important 20th century works for the concert saxophone.

"Throughout the middle decades of the twentieth century, a preponderance of the significant new saxophone solo and chamber repertoire would appear with the familiar dedication to Sigurd M. Rascher, the outcome of not just his ongoing commitment to motivate some of the world's finest composers, but also in part the result of genuine close friendships he developed with so many. Among them were Larsson, Glaser, and von Koch in Sweden; Jacobi, Dressel,von Knorr and Hindemith in Germany; Haba, Macha, and Reiner in Czechoslovakia; and Benson, Brant, Cowell, Dahl, Erickson, Husa, and Hartley in the United States. And it is not without significance that among all the pieces written for and dedicated to him during his life, not one was commissioned. He inspired new music, he never needed to purchase it." --^[2]

Works dedicated to Raschèr include:

• Edmund von Borck: Konzert für Alt-Saxophon und Orchester, Op. 6, 1932
• Warren Benson: Concertino for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble(or Orchestra, or Piano),1955
• Henry Brant: Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, 1941
• Eric Coates: Saxo-Rhapsody, 1936^[3]
• Henry Cowell: Air ans Scherzo for Alto Saxophone and Small Orchestra(or Piano), 1961
• Ingolf Dahl: Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble, 1949
• Werner Wolf Glaser: Allegro, Cadenza e Adagio for Alto Saxophone and Piano, 1950
• Alexander Glazunov: Concerto pour Saxophone Alto avec l'Orchestre de Cordes in mib,op.109, 1934
• Alois Hába: Suita pro Saxofon-Solo, Op.99, 1968
• Walter Hartly: Octet for Saxophones, 1975
• Paul Hindemith: Konzertstück für Zwei Altsaxophone, 1933
• Allen Hovhannes: World Under the Sea for Alto Saxophone, Harp, Tympani,Vibraphone and Gong, 1954
• Karel Husa: Elegie et Rondeau for Alto Saxophone and Piano, 1960
• Jacques Ibert: Concertino da camera pour saxophone alto et onze instruments, 1935
• Erland von Koch: Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, 1959
• Lars Erik Larsson: Konsert för Saxophon och Sträkorkester, 1934
• Frank Martin: Ballade for Alto Saxophone, String Orchestra, Piano and Tympani, 1938
• Darius Milhaud: Scaramouche pour Saxophone Mib moll et Orchestre, 1938
• Slavko Osterc: Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, 1935
• William Grant Still: Romance for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, 1954
• Viktor Ullmann: Slavische Rhapsodie für Orchester und Saxophon, 1940
• Maurice Whitney: Adagio and Samba for Alto Saxophone and Band (Orchestra or Piano),1951

Raschèr Saxophone Quartet[link]

With his daughter Carina, Linda Bangs and Bruce Weinberger (currently still member), Rascher founded the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet in 1969, one of the first classical saxophone ensembles to perform world-wide. They appeared at major concert halls in Europe and the United States during the first ten years with Sigurd Rascher. The quartet was acclaimed as the "Uncrowned Kings of the Saxophone" (Wiener Zeitung). The Rascher Quartet has performed in all countries of Europe, the United States, Mexico, Canada, South East Asia and Australia. It is the longest existing saxophone quartet and is entirely self supporting. Rascher's tireless pursuit of classical composers is continued by the quartet. Their impressive technical abilities and reputation led over 300 composers from more than 35 nations to dedicate works to the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet. The best known composers who have written for the group include Luciano Berio, Philip Glass, Iannis Xenakis, Sofia Gubaidulina, Charles Wuorinen, Giya Kancheli, Pehr Henrik Nordgren, Miklos Maros, Mauricio Kagel, Cristobal Halffter etc.^[4]

Teaching career[link]

This section requires expansion.

Raschèr taught saxophone at the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music and the Eastman School of Music.^{[citation needed]}

Many of his students went on to become well known saxophone teachers and performers themselves, including:

• Mark Aronson
• Ronald Caravan
• Rebecca Crutchfield
• Lawrence Gwozdz
• Kenneth Deans
• John-Edward Kelly
• Patrick Meighan
• Paul Cohen
• John S. Moore
• Lee Patrick
• Michael Ried
• Harry White
• James Houlik
• Richard J. Scruggs
• Carina Raschèr
• Linda Bangs
• Bruce Weinberger
• David Bilger
• Sylvia Baker
• Styliani Tartsinis
• Laurence Wyman
• Wildy Zumwalt

Raschèr Saxophone Workshops[link]

After retiring from his performing career in 1977, Raschèr continued to give week-long workshops to groups of saxophonists, both in the United States and his native Germany until well into his 80s. These workshops typically attracted between 40 and 80 players of all ages, and were usually held at universities where his admirers or former students held teaching positions, such as The University of Southern Mississippi, Georgia State University, Union College, SUNY Fredonia, and Syracuse University.

Workshops featured master classes, performances by soloists and quartets, and a final concert featuring all attendees playing together as a "saxophone orchestra." The last U.S. workshop was held at Yale University in 1992 and the last European workshop was held in southern Germany in 1993.

After suffering a debilitating stroke in 1994, Raschèr died in 2001 at age 93 in Shushan, New York.^[5]

The Sigurd Rascher Special Collections Archive is currently held at the State University of New York at Fredonia.

Saxophone tone and the saxophone mouthpiece[link]

One subject that was of great importance to Raschèr was his tonal concept. He believed that when used in classical music, the saxophone should sound as its inventor, Adolphe Sax, had intended. Upon inventing the instrument, Sax had specified the shape of the interior of the instrument's mouthpiece as being large and round. All saxophone mouthpieces were made in this style until the 1940s, when the advent of big-band jazz made saxophonists experiment with different shapes of mouthpieces to get a louder and edgier sound.

Between 1940 and 1960, it became common for classical saxophonists to use narrow-chamber mouthpieces, which give the instrument a brighter and edgier sound. Whenever he taught or lectured to saxophone players, Raschèr emphasized that the modern mouthpieces were not what Sax had intended, and the sound they produce, while useful to a jazz player who requires a loud penetrating sound, was not appropriate for use in classical music. His students and other disciples felt that the desirable tone for a classical saxophone was a softer, rounder sound - a sound that can only be produced by a mouthpiece with a large, rounded interior (often referred to as an "excavated chamber"). His steadfast and irascible insistence in this area, while nearly all the world's classical saxophonists were moving to narrower mouthpieces (along with saxophones with a non-parabolically expanding bore) and a brighter tone, resulted in quarrels with, and alienation from, the majority of the classical saxophone world. (There were other ways in which his playing differed from the majority of classical saxophonists; these included his insistence on using the slap tongue as a pizzicato technique, and his use of fluttertonguing .)

By 1970, narrow-chambered mouthpieces had become nearly universally popular, and mouthpiece manufacturers ceased production of large-chambered mouthpieces. This lack of supply meant that Raschèr's students had difficulty finding mouthpieces that would produce the tone they desired. For a period of time the only large-chambered mouthpieces were ones that had been manufactured in the 1920s and 1930s, leading Raschèr students to search pawn shops and other sources of old instruments.

Raschèr responded to this lack of supply by engaging a manufacturer to make a "Sigurd Raschèr brand" mouthpiece, which was simply a virtual duplication of the mouthpieces that had been readily available from American saxophone manufacturers Buescher, Conn and others in the 1920s. The Raschèr mouthpiece is still manufactured today.

Top Tones[link]

Of special importance is Raschèr's emphasis on the extended range of the saxophone. As early as 1930 he demonstrated that an advanced player can achieve a range of four octaves on the saxophone, despite the fact that few players at that time ever played beyond the conventional range of two and a half octaves. This upper range became known as the "altissimo register," but Raschèr himself refused to use that term, preferring to call them "top tones."

A few players played above high F before 1940, including H. Benne Henton of the Conway Band c. 1911 (to high D), Dick Stabile, an early jazz artist (to high F), and Jascha Gurewitz, an early recitalist (to high F#).

Raschèr was vocal in encouraging composers to make use of this extended range. He was eager to demonstrate his command of these "top tones," and argued that the use of these tones was a legitimate musical technique, not a trick or novelty. His book on this subject, Top-Tones for the Saxophone, was published in 1941 and remains highly regarded to this day.

To better demonstrate that the technique of playing tones above high F had its basis in the natural overtone series of the saxophone, he had the Buescher factory create a custom instrument for him: a saxophone body with no tone holes at all. A picture of this instrument is seen on the inside page of the Top Tones book. He demonstrated that it was possible to play at least 16 overtones on this instrument, and on a conventional saxophone as well, and claimed that diligent study of the overtone technique was the best way to gain a command of the extended range and improve over all tone quality.

The extended range (altissimo register) was highly controversial throughout the middle of the 20th century, and Raschèr stirred the controversy among the classical saxophone community by insisting that the instrument's inventor, Adolphe Sax, had intended the instrument to be played in this manner. Raschèr cited evidence that Sax had demonstrated a three-octave range (up to a high C) to composers in the 1840s.

Despite the initial resistance on the part of the saxophone community to the altissimo register, it has since come to be an accepted technique, and is utilized by nearly all classical and jazz saxophonists. Despite its difficulty, it is now commonly taught to advanced high school and college students, and has become a required skill for any student who desires a degree in saxophone performance.

During the earlier decades of his career, many saxophonists resisted and even ridiculed his pioneering work in extending the upper range of the instrument beyond two and a half octaves. Composers, however, were more inclined to embrace this expanded expressive capability that Mr. Rascher had singularly fostered. By {1977}, his lifelong commitment to the saxophone's high register, coupled with the momentum provided by so many composers who used it, had served to establish the extended range as an essential element of modern artistic saxophone performance. --Ronald Caravan [2]

Recognition and Awards[link]

This section requires expansion.

• He was awarded the Band Masters of America Award for distinguished artists^{[citation needed]}
• Honorary Life Member of the North American Saxophone Alliance^{[citation needed]}
• He received many other career awards (need details here).

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official web site [3] of the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet
• Page about Raschèr on the web site of Saxophone Journal
• Raschèr's New York Times obituary
• Raschèr's Los Angeles Times obituary
• Article about Raschèr's book Top Tones for Saxophone
• Memorial article about Raschèr by John-Edward Kelly
• Several articles by Sigurd Raschèr on saxophone history and usage at ClassicSax.com

This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (November 2007)

Sigurd Barrett (born January 20, 1967) is a Danish pianist, entertainer, composer, and writer. As a musician he operates in many genres (jazz, classical, etc.) and he is popular with different age-groups.

Biography[link]

Sigurd Barrett played the piano for the first time as a two-year-old. At the age of six he composed his first songs. In 1979 he got his first paid job and the following years he played a lot of jobs. He graduated 1992 from Århus University where he studied music with top grades.

His breakthrough was in the TV show "Hit med Sangen" and has later had shows himself. Among others: Sigurds Bjørnetime, a children's program with musical accompaniment; Sigurd og Symfoniorkestret(Sigurd and the symphony orchestra), a program teaching classical music to children; Sigurds Ulvetime, a musical TV show for adults.

External links[link]

• http://www.sigurdbarrett.dk
• http://www.hejsigurd.dk

Sigurd Magnusson was also the name of Sigurd I of Norway.

Sigurd Magnusson (1180 – 3 April 1194) was a Norwegian nobleman who campaigned against King Sverre of Norway during the Civil war era in Norway. ^[1]

Background[link]

Sigurd Magnusson was the son of King Magnus V of Norway and Gyrid Aslak. Sigurd Magnusson was the only publicly acknowledged son of King Magnus. Several years of warfare with Sverre Sigurdsson had ended with the defeat and death of King Magnus in the Battle of Fimreite (Slaget ved Fimreite) in 1184. In the aftermath, groups made up principally of the Norwegian aristocracy, clergy and merchants was formed to depose King Sverre. ^[2]

The young Sigurd was proclaimed to be King of Norway in 1193 at the Haugathing near Tønsberg. As the son of Magnus Erlingsson, Sigurd was the nominal king supported by the so-called Isle Beards (Øyskjeggs). The real leader was Hallkjell Jonsson, who had been a son-in law of Erling Skakke as well as the brother-in-law of King Magnus. With Harald Maddadsson, the Earl of Orkney, Hallkjell gathered most of his men on Orkney and Shetland, hence the name of the group. After establishing themselves in Viken, the Øyskjeggs sailed on to Bergen. Although they occupied the city itself and the surrounding regions, a force of Birkebeiners held on in the fortress of Sverresborg. ^[3]

Battle of Florvåg[link]

In the spring of 1194, King Sverre sailed south to confront the Øyskjeggs. The two fleets met at Florvåg on Askøy, an island just north of Bergen. King Sverre and his force confronted Sigurd Magnusson and the Øyskjeggs. King Sverre came to Gravdal with a vast fleet, which rowed over to Florvågøya. On the morning of Palm Sunday, 3 April 1194 the battle took place. Here the battle experience of the Birkebeiner veterans proved to be decisive. Hallkjell fell with most of his men. King Sverre won, but around 2,500 soldiers were killed in the bloody battle.^[4]

Sigurd Magnusson's corpse was shown in Bergen, in order to demonstrate King Sverre's power and also to prevent any impostors claiming to be the young prince. His body was buried in Mariakyrkjegarden, the churchyard of the St Mary's Church in Bergen.

Historic context[link]

The civil wars period of Norwegian history lasted from 1130 to 1240. During this period there were several interlocked conflicts of varying scale and intensity. The background for these conflicts was the unclear Norwegian succession laws, social conditions and the struggle between Church and King. There were then two main parties, firstly known by varying names or no names at all, but finally condensed into parties of Bagler and Birkebeiner. The rallying point regularly was a royal son, who was set up as the head figure of the party in question, to oppose the rule of the king from the contesting party.

Sources[link]

The most important historical source on the life of Sigurd Magnusson is contained in the Sverris Saga. This saga is likely biased, since the foreword states that part was written under King Sverre’s direct sponsorship. Heimskringla, written ca. 1230 by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson, contains background information.

References[link]

Other sources[link]

• McDonald, R. Andrew The Kingdom of the Isles: Scotland's Western Seaboard, c. 1100–c. 1336 (Tuckwell, West Linton, 1997)
• Lidén, Hans-Emil Mariakirken i Bergen (Bergen: Mangschou. 2000)