Tekla Griebel was born on 26 February 1866 in Randers and died 28 June 1940 in Buddinge. As a young girl she was taught music by her father – the German Theodor Griebel, who had come to Denmark in 1847 when he was employed as second violinist in H.C. Lumbye’s famous Tivoli orchestra – though she was more interested in drawing and painting. However, during her education at the Drawing School for Women 1881–1888, she began turning towards music, and in 1889–1891, she studied at the Conservatory in Copenhagen under Niels W. Gade, Orla Rosenhoff, Otto Malling and more. In the 1890s, she gained some public succes and acknowledgment: In 1893–94, five collections of songs were published at Den Kgl. Hofmusikhandel; in 1895 she debuted as a ballet composer when her music for the ballet I Rosentiden was performed at the Women’s Exhibition, and she also debuted as opera composer when her opera Skøn Karen was performed at Breslau Stadttheater; and in 1899, the same opera was performed at The Royal Danish Theatre. In 1899, she also wrote the first of a series of cantatas for events connected with the Danish Women’s Rights Movement.
In 1902 she married the theologian Frederik Wandall and in 1904 they had a son named Svend. According to Tekla Griebel herself, the marriage with Wandall was one of convenience, intended to provide the financial security that was necessary for her to have time to compose. However, Frederik Wandall abandoned his calling as a priest and attempted (with limited success) to establish himself as a poet under the pseudonym Erik Dall. Therefore, it was Tekla Griebel who had to earn money for the household, primarily by giving private lessons in singing, piano, music theory and music history. After their marriage and the birth of their child, Griebel’s productivity thus declined noticeably. When the family moved out of Copenhagen in 1907 – first to Refsnæs and later to Fredensborg, where she lived from 1910–1935 – Griebel slowly disappeared from the public Danish music scene, and never managed to regain the position she had in the 1890s. However, Griebel continued to compose music throughout her life, and made sure that her manuscripts were passed on to the Royal Library after her death.
Stylistically, Griebel’s music is predominantly Romantic, but she also explores neoclassical, atonal, and impressionistic elements. Characteristic of her production is that it is often expressively narrative, full of dramatic contrasts and characterized by unmistakable tone-paintings. The majority of her production is vocal music, and her instrumental music consists, with a few exceptions, of character pieces or program music. She was interested in Theosophy and based her philosophy of music on this spiritual movement.
