Otto Ludvig von Raben

GEDCOM Note

BIOGRAPHY Otto Ludwig Raben became Count when his older brother Christian Raben died in 1750. He was a good ruler, and continued to improve the conditions of the castle. Among other things he founded a starch and powder factory in Nysted, which is one of the oldest in the country. The castle was getting old and run down in parts, so he rebuilt the east wing in the Louis XVI style. He died in 1791, 61 years old, and the estate went to his son, Frederik Christian Raben, who was only 21 years old. (See Aalholm Castel) The following article was given to me when we visited Aalholm Castle in 1993. Björn Fisker Ohl, curator for the Aalholm Automobile Museum and Slot, had it copied and was very excited about being able to give it to me. From: "P2 Musik" (a danish magazine) by author Jens Henrik Koudal. "A Count playing the flute". One afternoon late in the summer of 1991 I strolleddown the 250 year old road lined with beautiful linden trees from Nysted to Aalholm Castle. An aquaintance had the week before made a reference to an old collection of music in a showcase at the castle. The notebook revealed a couple of hundred musical scores for "modedanser" for the aristocracy from the 1760s, arranged for the flute. Half an hour later I found myself up in the southwesterly tower in a room, full of books and documents. It proved to be the records of the estate Christiansholm, pretty much complete back to the year 1725. Among the bundles on the floor there was a stack of sheet music. Before the day was over, the stack was twice as high, since I had found many more pieces of music that accidentally had been placed here and there on shelves around the room. This collection of music had until now been totally unknown. It had belonged to Otto Ludvig Raben, who was the Count of Christiansholm (that included Aalholm and Bramslykke), from 1750 until his death in 1791. Among the music was also his diary. On 600 pages hand written in French he had recorded his life from his 19th year until shortly before his death. Therefor we know not only about the music he liked, but also about his life and the circles of people he associated with. The Count of Christiansholm. Otto Ludvig had of course his education in Paris before he could function as a Count. He left for Paris in 1751, and his trip there lasted more than three years. Otto Ludvig studied languages, geometry, physics, fencing, dance and playing the flute. He was a frequent visitor at the Court, and attendeed comedies, opera, ballet and concerts.

there was still time enough to join KingLudvig XV in Deer hunting, and also time to visit with the king's mistress, Madame Pompadour. When he returned from Paris he married Anna Catharina Henningia Buchwaldt from Holstein in 1757, and the newlyweds settled down at Aalholm Castle.Even the births of all their children did not stop them from spending five months every winter until 1768 in Copenhagen to participate in the society life. In the summers they were often visiting with family in Holstein. After 1768 it seems Otto Ludvig settled down to more local business on Lolland. He had the east wing at Aalholm rebuilt, he founded a starch and powder factory in Nysted, and he wrote confidently in his dairy "the estate has in my time been greatly improved". Through his siblings', his childrens' and his own marriage he became related to many of the prominent families of the time, Reventlow, Moltke, Rantzau, Huitfeldt, Juel, Scheel and Bille Brahe, and these were also his closest cirlce of friends. He belonged to the education movement among the estate owners, but he himself had no political ambition. Otto Ludvig Raben and his music. From his 20th until his 31st year Otto Ludvig took instruction from five different teachers in flute playing, both in Copenhagen and in Paris. One of them was Michel Blavet, Frence's most famous flutist. His studies were not in vain. During most of his adult life Otto Ludvig kept writing down the music he enjoyed most, for his own collection. Most of them are melodies to the popular dances of the time, minueter and kontrodance. All in all it grew to a collection of 2500 pieces, gathered in seven volumes, and is by far the largest collection of its kind in Denmark. Not only did Otto Ludvig pursue his music at Aalholm, but he was also a frequent guest at the court in Copenhagen, where he attended ballets, operas and concerts. He frequented the Royal Theater, and he was invited to concerts at the homes of the nobility, and also at musicians', such as his own teacher Palschau. And he would eagerly participate, if the occasion presented itself. From 1756 he played at some of the official concerts in "The Music Company" in Rådhusstræde in Copenhagen, and he willingly accompanied a beautiful voice at private parties. The Music Collections. Besides the already mentioned seven volumes of music at Aalholm, there are also 75 handwritten and 150 printed manuscripts from the 1700s. Among the handwritten works, there are both orchestra music and chamber music. The most important pieces consists of 12 flute concerts and 3 trio sonatas for two flutes. They are ascribed to the composers Vivaldi, Gluck, Scheibe, Hasse, Quantz, Pergolesi, Jomelli, Agrell and Döbbert. Aside from the two last ones, these composers were well known in their time. These handwritten pieces are presumably from the 1750s and 1760s, during the period when Otto Ludvig was most intensly participating in the musical circles both in Copenhagen and in Lolland. The flute concert by Vivaldi is the first complete manuscript from the 1700s of this composer, that is found in Denmark. The music was known before. The three concerts for the flute by the German born Johann Adolph Scheibe is on the other hand unique and has not been heard of anywhere else. Scheibe was the orchestra director for King Christian VI, and composer in the 1740s, and was also known for his reviews. He critized even Johann Sebastian Bach! Otto Ludvig was a personal friend of his, and has most likely played under his direction. Among the printed works, we shall mention only the 30 pieces for the string quartet by Haydn in the earliest editions. Music in Lolland surroundings. The most often mentioned sponsor of concerts was Otto Ludvig's father, the Count Christian Frederik Raben.He held a countless number of concerts at Bramslykke, where he lived, in Copenhagen and even in Hamburg. Otto Ludvig also sponsored concerts at Aalholm. Otto Ludvig mingled not only with other noblemen on the other estates, but also with well to do businessmen and public officials in Nyköbing and Nysted. It even happened that the Count attended local wedding parties by farmers and villagers. There was a certain bond in dance and music at these events. Once Otto Ludvig rode to attend a wedding party at Vantore, and danced a minuet with the bride. The popular music in Europe. We only have a few Danish collections of music from before the 1800s, and none that can compare with the collection just discovered at Aalholm. Through the outstanding orchestra "Concerto Copenhagen" we can now listen to how a Count from Lolland was quiet abreast of the times and the popular music of Europe. Music from the radio broadcast is produced at DR and is later re-broadcast on CD. The broadcast describes Otto Ludvig Raben as a man fond of social gatherings, who cultivated both music and dance with the aristocracy, the villagers and the countrymen. He lived simultaneously with the French Revolution, yet he never mentions it in his Diary! (Jens Henrik Koudal is archivist at the Danish Folkemindesamling.) Translated by Bernice Raedel, September 1994.