Abrahamsen, Erik (Schack Olufsen)(bBrande, Jutland,9 April 1893;dCopenhagen,17 Feb 1949).Danishmusicologist. After studying at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music (191013), where he graduated as an organist, he was organist and choirmaster at the Luther Church (191424) and head of the music division of the Copenhagen Royal Library (191621). As a student he attended Hammerich's lectures in music history at Copenhagen University (there was no degree course in music history until 1915) and in 1917 he became the first MA in musicology in Denmark, graduating with a dissertation on the transition from Catholic to Protestant liturgy in Denmark in the 16th and 17th centuries. During his years at the Royal Library he began to study its large collection of Latin liturgical fragments on the basis of which he tried to reconstruct the Danish medieval liturgy and to provide a demonstration of Peter Wagners theory of the two traditions, Roman and Germanic, of Gregorian chant. He submitted this as a doctoral dissertation to the university in 1921, but when Hammerich retired (1922) and no successor was appointed, Abrahamsen submitted it instead to Wagner at the University of Fribourg, where he was awarded the doctorate in 1923. In 1924 he was appointed senior lecturer in music at the University of Copenhagen and subsequently became the first Danish professor of musicology (1926), with responsibility for organizing and directing the study of music in the university and for establishing the musicology institute, which led him to take an active interest in music education at the broadest level. He gained first-hand experience of its problems by teaching music in St Jrgens Gymnasium (192843); he was also a frequent and popular broadcaster on music on Danish radio, and music critic of theNationaltidende(19349) and theBerlingske tidende(193949). His later books all represent varied attempts to convey elementary musical information and an explanation of music's place in society to the general reader, while also discussing important problems for the professional music teacher. He maintained his earlier scholarly interests by collaborating in the preparation of the valuable editionsEn klosterbog fra middelalderens slutning(1933) andNiels Jespersns Gradual 1573(1935) and of the melodies toDanmarks gamle folkeviser(193576).WRITINGSLiturgisk musik i den danske Kirke efter Reformationen(Copenhagen,1919)Elments romans et allemands dans le chant grgorien et la chanson populaire en Danemark(diss., U. of Fribourg,1923; Copenhagen, 1923)Tonekunsten(Copenhagen,1927)Musik og samfund(Copenhagen,1941)Hvem er musikalsk?(Copenhagen,1943)BIBLIOGRAPHYJ.P.Larsen:Erik Abrahamsen,Festskrift udgivet af Kbenhavns Universitet(1949), 17883JOHN BERGSAGEL