Gehrmans Music Publishing 💛 Swedish choral music = #swedishchoralmusic

The tradition of the "Swedish choral miracle" continues! Swedish choirs and Swedish choral music have received great international interest and acclaim in recent decades. In 2018, Gehrmans Music Publishing decided to celebrate this rich heritage, and in cooperation with Professor Anders Eby and his Mikaeli Chamber Choir, we released twelve films with choral music from the twelve decades since Gehrmans was founded in 1893. We called the project #swedishchoralmusic.

In 2019, #swedishchoralmusic will explore Swedish choral music of today. What is it and where is it headed? We will ask some composers active today to share their view.

Meet Composer of the Month #2: ANNA-KARIN KLOCKAR!

A-K Klockar Composer of the Month 2.jpg

She grew up in the picturesque landscape of Dalecarlia, Sweden, and spent 25 years in the Italian film music business – Anna-Karin Klockar gets her inspiration from many different sources. She placed first in the American Polyphonos Competition as an international composer (2017/18) and in 2016 she won the prestigious ASAWCA award, a competition for international female choral composers, for her choral piece Speeches. “The piece is based on three marvelous texts that have been set to music of the highest calibre”, the jury stated.

Anna-Karin Klockar on choral music
“If you say choral music, I say Swedish! Choral music is such an important part of our culture. In my youth I sang in a church choir, later in the chamber choir of the Royal College of Music. I have written many arrangements for a female choir here in Falun, where I was born. But throughout all the years that I worked in the Italian film industry, I never wrote for choirs. There was music for large orchestra, pop band or computer… I like all kinds of music and love working in different genres.

I benefited a lot from the musical craftsmanship I learned in Italy, and I don’t think I could have picked it up to the same extent here in Sweden. I write choral music that describes the text, just like film music supports the story of the film and brings out emotions that are not apparent in the dialogue or the pictures. I am quite theatrical. When I won a competition (link: AWCA) with Speeches, although the critics were mostly overwhealmingly positive, some people questioned how I treated the text in the first part of the piece, The Rights of Woman (link: Spotify). Such a serious subject… They thought I was too playful. But I think one can use a bit of irony when talking about difficult things, just like the comedians do! But it’s a sensitive issue in today’s society. One critic was very upset!

My voice isn’t so special, but it’s useful! My voice is my work tool. I use it when I write all kinds of music, even instrumental melodies. Music is my first language. I was singing before I could speak, so I guess that’s the language I´m best at.”

Three choral pieces by Anna-Karin Klockar:
Forever Hurts, Swedish poet Karin Boye’s beautiful text set to music for SATB. Commissioned by the American ensemble Esoterics and their artistic leader Eric Banks. (SATB, advanced level)
Aftonbön (Evening Prayer), a simple, lovely setting of another Karin Boye poem. In Swedish. (SATB, easy level)
Speeches, winner of the 2016 AWCA competition for female composers. Three speeches put to music in a theatrical manner. (SATB, advanced level)

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COMPOSER OF THE MONTH #1: JACOB MÜHLRAD

#swedishchoralmusic Composer of the Month #1 Jacob Mühlrad has established himself as one of his generation’s most sought-after Scandinavian composers. A 27 year old adept and student of world famous choral composer Sven-David Sandström, his music has already been performed at New York's Carnegie Hall, the National Portrait Gallery in London, and the Swedish Radio's concert hall Berwaldhallen. In 2019, a three year cooperation with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Stockholm Concert House will be launched, as well as continued projects with the Swedish Radio Choir, who has premiered many of Mühlrad's pieces in recent years, including Kaddish, a choral work telling the story of the composer's grandfather who survived the Holocaust. His highly acclaimed a cappella piece Time will get its USA premiere by Cappella San Francisco on the 23rd of February.

Jacob on choral music:
“My singing voice is horrible! I have never sung in a choir. But when I composed my first piece in 2011, it was for choir. Sven-David Sandström encouraged me to become a composer. His guidance and wise questioning have meant a lot to me ever since the first time we met. I am searching for some kind of spiritual essence in music. When I use the choir as an instrument, I come close to what is both human and divine at the same time. Singing and the human voice affect everyone in some way! I work a lot with timbre and harmonies. My musical expression is mysterious, meditative and emotional, in some cases also narrative. My Jewish heritage is often present in ornaments, melodies or form. In our society today, less and less people claim to be religious. But that doesn’t mean they are not spiritual. I think that our existential needs can be fulfilled through art, not least through art music.”

Three choral pieces by Jacob Mühlrad:
Time – A meditation of our time in 27 languages. SATB a cappella (advanced level) – to be released in the spring of 2019
Skall inte finnas mer – A wish for an existence without death, grief and pain, from the Book of Revelations. In Swedish. Mixed choir and strings (medium level)
Anim zemirot – grand with beautiful harmonies. In hebrew, from the Jewish service. Three version: mixed choir (medium level), reduced version (easy-medium level), femail choir (medium level)

If you want to follow our journey through the landscape of Swedish choral music of today, you will be able to subscribe to our #swedishchoralmusic newsletter. More information here shortly.

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2018 #swedishchoralmusic films

With our twelfth and last film, Jerker Leijon's Bortom berg och mörka vatten (Beyond mountains and dark waters), we would like to thank all participants and partners for a fantastic anniversary year 2018! Read more about this film below.

We have been publishing Swedish Choral Music since New Zealand introduced female voting rights (Yes, first country in the world to do so - in 1893!). In the 125 years since then, Swedish Choral Music has evolved and expanded. We are proud to be part of this rich tradition.

As a part of our celebrations for our 125th anniversary in 2018, we are launching the project #swedishchoralmusic. In collaboration with Mikaeli Chamber Choir and its conductor, professor Anders Eby, we record twelve short films about choral pieces we love, one for each decade since 1893.

On every last Sunday of the month during 2018 we will release a film on the Facebook page Svensk körmusik / Swedish Choral Music (please like and follow the page!).

The films are concieved and produced by Janna Vettergren and filmed by Pär Fridberg. Do you have questions about the project? Please contact janna.vettergren@gehrmans.se

If you are interested in Swedish choral music, Gerhmans has a new subscription: SweChoral, with music selected for non-Swedish speaking choirs. The SweChoral subscription presents 3–5 new high quality choral works in two mailings a year and includes works suitable for both the intermediate as well as the advanced choir.

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FILM 1 - january 2018: the 2000s. Mattias Skölds We know not where the dragons fly (Bhu Zhi Long Qu Chu) (2004). A rhythmically challenging but harmonically uncomplicated Swedish choral piece in Chinese! Mattias Sköld is born in 1976 and is one of the most interesting young choral composers today. In the film, the composer Mattias Sköld tells conductor Anders Eby how he came to write a piece with Chinese words. The film is recorded in the Stockholm church Årsta kyrka, a beautiful, interesting and prize winning building from 2011 by Swedish architect Johan Celsing.

More information about We know not where the dragons fly is available HERE.

...and there is more to read in english about the composer Mattias Sköld on his own webpage.

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FILM 2 - february 2018: 1990s. Gabriella Gullins Tyst är det rum, from Tre Miniatyrer (1994). The words by 1951 Nobel Prize laureate Pär Lagerkvist are delicately put to music in a composition built on long pauses. The film is recorded at the Swedish Museum of Performing Arts.

Read more about the composer Gabriella Gullin and see parts of the score for Tyst är det rum.

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FILM 3 - March 2018: 1930s. Hildor Lundvik: Verlaine-Stämning (In the mood of Verlaine) (1937), text Vilhelm Ekelund. “It is raining in the town, raining silently and slowly…” In In the mood of Verlaine, Swedish melancholia meets French 19th century poetic “spleen”. Paul Verlaine’s poem “Il pleure dans mon coeur” (“In my heart it weeps”) inspires Ekelund; thus Lundvik’s music is born. “My heart silently weeps” sing the tenors, accompanied by the sopranos’ and altos’ gentle rain on the roofs. This film is recorded at the Swedish Museum of Performing Arts.

Read more about the composer Hildor Lundvik here!

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FILM 4 - April 2018: 1910s. Wilhelm Stenhammar: Vårnatt/Lenznacht (1912), text Oscar Levertin. Piano: Carlos Murakami.

“The spring is a life-giving force that, given enough faith, grants ‘the hearts all that they desire’, but that also contains broken strings and thwarted plans that yearn to ‘be ash in urn’”, writes Erik Wallrup at The Swedish Musical Heritage. Vårnatt (Spring night) by Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927) brings the beauty and pain of the Nordic Spring to life in harmonics that choirs have loved to sing since 1912. Vårnatt was written for choir and orchestra, but it is the piano version that has been performed the most. The film is recorded at Årsta Church.

Read about Wilhelm Stenhammar here!

...and the score is available in piano version at Gehrmans and for orchestra at The Swedish Musical Heritage.

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FILM 5 - May 2018: 1920s. Knut Håkanson (1887–1929): Våhr-Wijsa (Spring Song, 1929) from Four Madrigals. Text: Lars Wivallius (1605-1669). Expert: Mattias Lundberg, Professor of Musicology.

While Knut Håkanson was dying from a kidney disease in 1929, he found himself in an intensely creative period. His sketchbook is full of choral pieces which he has feverishly completed, among others Vårh-Wijsa (Spring Song) with a text by Swedish adventurer and poet Lars Wivallius – a text that is spelled in the strangest 1700th Century way that Håkanson could find. Choristers of 1929 were in for a Baroque treat! Håkanson goes “all-in”, as Professor Mattias Lundberg puts it. The film is recorded in the Swedish Museum of Performing Arts and the Music and Theatre Library of Sweden.

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Film 6 – June 2018: the 1950s. Lille Bror Söderlundh (1912-1957): Fritt och ljust and Sov min själ from Tre madrigaler. Poems by Gunnar Björling (1887–1960). With Christina Mattsson, folksong researcher, former Director of the Swedish Radio P2 (classical, jazz and folk music channel) and author of a Söderlundh biography.

One of Sweden’s most famous songwriters and singers throughout the 20th Century was Lille Bror Söderlundh. He was – and is – loved for his clear tenor voice, elegant guitar arrangements and beautiful settings of Swedish poet Nils Ferlin. But he was also a recognized composer of classical music, although his critics thought he was too famous to be taken seriously. His interest for Swedish contemporary poetry led him to Finland-Swedish modernist Gunnar Björling, whose texts Söderlundh lovingly set to music. Christina Mattsson talks to Anders Eby about how the two artists met; a meeting not without complications. Mikaeli Chamber Choir sings two songs (Fritt och ljust, Sov min själ) from Söderlundh’s Tre madrigaler from 1952 with texts by Björling. The film is recorded at the Swedish Museum of Performing Arts (Scenkonstmuseet). We would also like to thank Christina Mattsson for an interesting talk and delicious coffee!

Read Christina Mattsson’s words about Söderlundh here: https://www.gehrmans.se/en/composers/soderlundh_lille_bror

...and more about the poet Björling here: http://www.booksfromfinland.fi/1985/06/poems-7/

The score can be previewed here: https://www.gehrmans.se/en/shop/kor/tre-madrigaler

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Film 7 – july 2018: 1940s. Åke Malmfors (1918-1951): Månsken (1943). Text: Bo Bergman (1869-1967).

Åke Malmfors’ friend from the Royal Academy of Music, legendary Eric Ericson, was especially fond of Malmfors’ choral music and performed his song from 1943, Månsken (Moonlight), many times throughout the years. Thanks to him, it is now among the most loved Swedish choral songs. Åke Malmfors was known for his characteristic sound with a touch of French Impressionist music; this flavour is also present in Månsken, a setting of Bo Bergman’s poem where moonlight bathes nature in a silvery light and Puck hides in the shadows to sneak up on a fairy who has lost her track. In 1951, Malmfors died suddenly, only 32 years old. Eric Ericson has said that he morned not only a friend and colleague, but also all the great music that could have been, had Malmfors lived longer.

http://www.swedishmusicalheritage.com/composers/malmfors-ke/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Bergman

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Film 8 – August 2018: music from the 2010s. Ann-Sofi Söderqvist (1956–): What is life? (2014). Text: Malin Hülphers (1964–)

How do you create groovy music without rhythm instruments, with only voices, with a whole choir? What is life? was commissioned by the vocal ensemble Voces Nordicae (now VoNo), whose conductor Lone Larsen wanted an unusually rhythmic piece, but with expressive harmonies.

Trumpeter, big band leader and composer Ann-Sofi Söderqvist lets simple elements make a whole that swings; rhythms and frequencies, bright and dark sounds, consonants and vowels. Söderqvist used a poem by Leonard Cohen for the original composition, but after fruitless negotiations about the text rights, decided to instead let Malin Hülphers write the text for the finished music. Malin created an existential and beautiful universe of words:

What is life? a voice.

What is living? the beat of butterfly wings.

Where is life? a lightning spark.

In your heart existence comes alive.

Look at the score HERE and read more about Ann-Sofi Söderqvist HERE!

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Film 9 – September 2018: music from the 1960s. Gösta Nystroem (1890-1966) Havsdagrar och molnflockar from Golfiner (1966). Text: Claes E. Claeson (1920-1991)

Gösta Nystroem was dependent on the sea, both as a person and as artist. He sailed the Arctic Ocean and around Africa through the Suez-Canal, lived by the sea and his most famous symfony is called Sinfonia del Mare. The poems by sea captain and journalist Claes E Claeson must have felt like home to Nystroem, who made three of them into uniquely imaginative, modernist a cappella choral pieces. The title Golfiner alludes to the portuguese word for dolphin: “golfinho”. The third piece is Havsdagrar och molnflockar, set on a tropical island. The text is almost excusively about cloud formations of every shape and colour; heavy storm clouds red from the sunset, cirrus feathers with their thin threads, nimbostratus of cooling rain.

Have a look at the music here: https://www.gehrmans.se/butik/kor/golfiner

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Film 10 – October 2018: 1893. Valborg Aulin (1860–1928): Two choral pieces from 1893 (text: unknow). Valborg Aulin is the featured composer of the Gehrmans Music Publishing 125th anniversary (founded in 1893).

To celebrate our 125th anniversary as limitied company in the music publishing business, we issue two wonderful, long lost, choral gems from 1893: Valborg Aulin’s Min lycka varade så kort (My happiness lasted so short) and Lysen stjärnor (Shine, oh Stars!). Music with a air of turn of the century, with beautiful a cappella qualities and a constant movement forward, by a female composer who in the 1890s was among the most respected in the Stockholm musical establishment, and who was also a brilliant pianist, but who disappeared mysteriously from the limelight in 1903 and was forgotten. This film is recorded in the Eric Ericson Concert Hall in Stockholm in cooperation with the Eric Ericson International Choral Centre. Mikaeli Chamber Choir interprets Aulin’s music under the direction of Anders Eby, who also tells about the composer’s life in her hometown Stockholm.