A noted singer and vocal teacher, Joel Mossberg was born in 1870. His birthplace was Kumla in the Swedish province of Närke. After completing his elementary education he worked as a stone-carver in Visby before emigrating in 1892.[1]
In Chicago Mossberg continued working at his trade, devoting his spare time to musical studies. His fine voice and masterful technique soon made him famous as a baritone of rare ability and secured for him the position of soloist at the North Shore Jewish Synagogue and the Sixth Presbyterian Church.[1]
Much in demand for his concert work, he sang in over twenty states throughout the country. He was a choral director and teacher at the Mendelssohn Conservatory of Music in Chicago as well as head of the American Union of Swedish Singers. A member of several fraternities, he held honorary membership in the Orpheus Singing Club and Björgvin Singing Society. [2]
Between 1906 and 1919 Joel Mossberg released over seventy songs on the Columbia, Edison and Victor labels. Many were from the Swedish choral tradition: folk songs, student songs, hymns and patriotic anthems. Literary giants Carl Michael Bellman, Gunnar Wennerberg and J. L. Runeberg contributed to his repertoire. At the same time Mossberg recorded several comic songs written by the entertainer Lars Bondeson. [3]
Swedish music and film
The Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings
Recordings at the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project
Streaming audio at the Library of Congress