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A Christmas Wish

Göteborgs Ungdomskör sjunger under ledning av universitetslektor Anne Johansson, som startade kören 2005. Medverkar på albumet gör även Erik Groenestein-Hendriks (harpa), Joakim Kallhed (piano) och André Strömberg (slagverk). Lyssna på delar av skivan på Footprint Records hemsida.

Innehåll / Contents:

Himlen hänger stjärnsvart – Sven Körling
Staffansvisor – Trad. / Mårten Jansson
Stjärngossarnas visa – Thord Gummesson
Staffan och Herodes – Trad.
A Ceremony of Carols – Benjamin Britten
– Adam lay i-bounden
– Balulalow
– There is no rose
– This litte babe
Det är en ros utrsprungen – Trad. 15th century
Angelus ad virginem – Anon.
Frid på jord – Sofia Karlsson
Candlelight Carol – John Rutter
Betlehems stjärna – Ivar Widéen
Marias vaggsång – Max Reger
Marias vaggvisa – Fredrik Sixten/Franz Gruber
Personent hodie – Trad. from Piæ Cantiones
Jul, jul, strålande jul – Gustaf Nordqvist
Noël nouvelet – Trad. France
Stilla natt – Franz Gruber
Veni veni Emanuel – Trad. 15th century
Julvisa – Jean Sibelius



Ama. CD

Den polska kammarkören Camerata Silesia under ledning av Anna Szostak har tagit sig an kompositören Anders Jormins körmusik. Jormin medverkar själv som solist på kontrabas.

When Anders Jormin first worked with the Polish choir Camerata Silesia and its conductor Anna Szostak, he started to dream of making a recording with them. That dream comes to fruition in this release from Footprint: an album of Jormin’s choral music born of his unique combination of free improvisation with rigorous technique.

The impulses behind Jormin’s music include medieval chant, folk music, the music of the European baroque and of course the jazz which made him famous. His choral music comes into being courtesy of texts by Shakespeare, Hemingway, Virgil, Seneca and by himself, as well as from ancient hymnody from protestant and Catholic traditions and voices from as far apart as Norway and Japan.

Across the 13 individual a cappella works recorded at the stunning Polish Radio concert hall in Katowice are existing works, pieces newly written for the choir and others re-imagined for the occasion – among them a re-casting of the final movement to Jormin’s Symphony of the Birds, with which the singers and composer first met, and the title track Ama, adapted from a work of the same name originally created for Trio Medieval. Jormin’s music is direct yet reflective, disciplined yet emotional. He brings his rich, deeply involving voice to full vocal fruition on this new album, and one of Europe’s finest choirs sing it with the passion and excellence it deserves and commands.

Some of the scores are available: Ama, Ave Maria, Doubt Thou the Stars, M, Radius solaris, Veri floris

Contents:
Radius solaris
Alleluyah
Doubt Thou the Stars
Three Shades
Hemingway Intonations
Ama
Shakespearian Sketches
Veri floris
Gestures
Congregation of Plovers
Komorebi Requiem
Ascension of Larks
M
Ave Maria



Nocturnal Singing

GRAMMISNOMINERAD 2018

Composer portrait of Thomas Jennefelt.

Nocturnal Singing (Jessica Bäcklund, Swedish Radio Choir, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Manze)

Fyra operakörer / Four opera choruses (Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Royal Swedish Navy Band, Fredrik Malmberg):
De bortkördas kör / Chorus of the Deported
Midsommarnatten / Midsummer Night
På festen / Am Party
Slutkör / Final Chorus

”När jag hörde uruppförandet av Thomas Jennefelts ’Nocturnal singing’ på radion sent i november 2010 blev jag så suggererad att jag för en sekund såg ut genom fönstret för att försäkra mig om att inte också hela staden låg i mörker. Nu finns detta körmästerverk på ett album som också bjuder på hisnande vokala fantasier till fyra tänkta operor: ’De bortkördas kör’, ’Midsommarnatten’, ’På festen’ och ’Slutkör’.
Här ställer Jennefelt ordens semantiska hårdhet mot en mjukhet i det meningsbefriade språk som bara musiken själv kan alstra. Som i den underskönt magiska ’Midsommarnatten’ där en ursvensk ritual rekonstrueras utifrån en avlägsen framtid med hjälp av ihopklippta folkvisetexter som ingen längre vet vad de betyder.” Martin Nyström, Dagens Nyheter

Down through the years, THOMAS JENNEFELT has composed music for a wide variety of settings, but attention to vocal music is salient in his works, which extend from choral music to opera. Warning to the rich is an early and successful example of the former, and has been performed the world over since its inception in 1977. Other acclaimed choral pieces include O Domine and Dichterliebe (I–X), composed to the same poems by Heinrich Heine that Robert Schumann once used, and the original a cappella suite Villarosa Sequences sung to a self-created, Latinesque language.
A piece such as Villarosa Sequences certainly adds dimensions to Jennefelt’s creative repertoire. Besides being a singer himself, a former member of the prestigious Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, his vocal music demonstrate a deep interest in language. He often writes his own librettos and shows great sensitivity for the value of words.
His musical narratives are often populated by clear-cut characters and strong contrasts – displaying a rare talent for simple details that yield a great impact. Melodic lines and organic rhythms provide what is almost a visceral experience. The sweeping brush strokes of drama are parsed by detailed and intimate passages, such as in the melancholy NocturnalSinging (2010) and the demanding, yet dreamy and sensuous Fyra operakörer/Four Opera Choruses (2016), taken from as-yet unwritten operas.
Many of his delicate works for choir have earned international popularity, with their abundant use of a full potential profusion of choral sonority, often underpinned by a distinct rhythm. These features, along with a decidedly free-tonal character imbued with a melodic lyricism, are also detectable in his instrumental works. Worthy of mention are the exquisite trumpet concerto Stockholm i maj /Stockholm in May (2000) and the elements of light in the orchestral piece In rilievo (2005).
Jennefelt’s multifaceted and vocally sensitive composition is particularly suited to musical drama. Notable amongst his operas are the full-length Gycklarnas Hamlet /The Jesters’ Hamlet (1989), the chamber opera Farkosten/ The Vessel (1994), to which he set his own libretto, and several other musical drama scenes for different sizes of orchestra. He also wrote Sport och fritid/Sports & Leisure for the Stockholm Royal Opera to a libretto by Niklas Rådström. The chamber opera Hos oss/At Our Place (2012), with a libretto by Magnus Florin, is very cutting-edge with its focus on authenticity, being performed in private apartments in Stockholm, and later, Berlin. – Tony Lundman


UrVerk – Swedish Contemporary
Uppsala Vokalensemble, under ledning av Sofia Ågren, har här spelat in tre verk som uruppförts av kören. På albumet medverkar även saxofonisten Jesper Eriksson.
Innehåll / Contents:
Emil Råberg: Approximately Four Improvisations*:
– Summer Melody
– Winter Sounds
– Spring Tune
Maria Lithell Flyg: Andas den ut ur mitt bröst
Martin Q. Larsson: Hundra tusen miljarder
UrVerk får högsta betyg av tidningen Hifi & Musik – fem stjärnor för musiken och plus för ljudet!
 
*Utgiven på Bo Ejeby Förlag. Du hittar noten här.


Awake O North Wind

Josefine Mindus: Ingångstrall
Einojuhani Rautavaara: Credo
Sven-David Sandström: Let Him Kiss Me
Wilhelm Stenhammar: I Seraillets Have
Oskar Lindberg: Stjärntändningen
Jan Magne Førde: Bruremarsj
Sven-David Sandström: Until the Daybreak
Fredrik Sixten: Jubilate Deo
Knut Nystedt: O Crux
Trond Kverno: Ave Maris Stella
Sven-David Sandström: Awake, O North Wind
Åke Malmfors: Pilarna
Ola Gjeilo: Northern Lights
Sven-David Sandström: His Left Hand
Karin Rehnqvist: När natten skänker frid
Wilhelm Stenhammar: September
Sven-Eric Johanson: Snabbt jagar stormen våra år
Grete Pedersen  & Henning Sommerro: Bruremarsj fra Valsøyfjord

”The repertoire does more than just round up the usual suspects, and the choir is extremely good. What’s more, the singers are high school kids … Phrasing, diction, pitch, and the emotional entry into the music are all exemplary … the kids are good at all this, and more. They are caught in handsome sound, and the booklet is everything you’d want it to be. Here’s a novelty; a program of Nordic fare I’m actually going to hang onto.” Philip Greenfield, American Record Guide



All Night Vigil

Uppsala akademiska kammarkör sjunger Rachmaninoff. Solister är Annika Hudak (mezzo-sopran) och Patrik Wallin (tenor), allt under ledning av Stefan Parkman.

Innehåll:

Priiditye, poklonimsya (Come, let us worship)
Blagoslovi, dushe moya, Gospoda (Bless thou the Lord, O my soul)
Blazhen muzh (Blessed is the man)
Svete tikhiy (O Gladsome Light)
Nyne otpushchayeshy (Lord, now lettest thou)
Bogoroditse Devo (Virgin mother of God)
Slava v vyshnikh Bogu (Glory be to God)
Khvalite imya, Godpodne (Laud ye the name of the Lord)
Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi (Blessed art thou, O Lord)
Voskreseniye Khristovo videvshe (We have seen thy resurrection, O Christ)
Velichit dusha (My soul doth magnify the Lord)
Slava v vyshnikh Bogu (Glory be to God on high)
Dnes spaseniye (Today hath salvation come to earth)
Voskres iz groba (When thou hadst arisen from the tomb)
Vzbrannoy voyevode (Heaven-elected chieftain)

Vita nuova

Titeln är hämtad från Pär Lagerkvists dikt, han har
i sin tur lånat den av Dante. En samling som tar avstamp i femtiotalet med Gunnar de Frumerie, vars stycke cd:n lånat titeln av, och landar i ensemblens beställningsverk av Paula af Malmborg Ward, Vidder (slagverk Daniel Saur) från 2015.

Klassiska körverk av Sven-Erik Bäck – Jesus, tänk på mig, Lars Edlund –Vinternätter (piano Helge Kjekshus), Bengt Hambraeus – Michaelimotetten(orgel Mattias Wager), Arne Mellnäs – Laude och Lars Johan Werle – Canzona di 126 de Petrarca är representerade på denna CD.

”Genomgående sjunger Erik Westbergs ensemble med ett makalöst uttryck och en känslighet och klang som är beundransvärd … Missa inte den här skivan!” Axel Lindhe, Opus



A bright star shineth

”We talked about recording a CD. Instead, we toured most of Europe, singing at festivals and in competitions. But finally, the timing was right and A Bright Star Shineth is our Christmas album featuring beloved classics and new music.
Nu tändas tusen juleljus, composed by Emmy Köhler in 1898, is a Swedish classic. Veni Emmanuel was originally a medieval French processional hymn. Both are in arrangements by Jan Åke Hillerud.
The British composer and conductor Paul Hillier is known for having one foot in early music and the other in contemporary art music, as is evident by his work with Theatre of Voices and The Hilliard Ensemble. The starkly beautiful There Is No Rose is a tribute to the Virgin Mary.
Guds son är född/The Son of God Is Born is an old melody from the Swedish province of Halland, in a delicious arrangement by the composer Otto Olsson. His late-Romantic composition style was influenced by medieval Gregorian and French music. Here, the well-known hymn Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her from the 1500s is woven into the folk tune.
Francis Poulenc’s O magnum mysterium is one of four songs that make up Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël from 1952 and its mystic dimension invites contemplation.
In Karl Jenkins’ Gaudete, verses from the medieval Czech tune Ezechielis porta are blended into a melody from what is possibly the oldest book of songs in Scandinavia, Piæ Cantiones.
It has become somewhat of a tradition to sing the Icelandic song Heyr himna smiður at Christmastime even though it is not actually a Christmas song. The lyrics by Kolbeinn Tumason, a mighty medieval chieftain who was also a poet, were set to music by Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson more than 700 years later.
In dulci jubilo, here in a version by Robert Lucas Pearsall, is a macaronic, or multi-lingual, carol. Back in the 1300s, it was sung in Latin and medieval German, In dulci jubilo nun singet und seid froh, and in 1582, a Swedish and Latin version appeared in Piæ Cantiones. It is easy to see why this timeless classic has appealed to generation upon generation.
Thomas Tallis’ O nata lux de lumine, “O Light Born Of Light”, ties in with the title of our album. The words are taken from a medieval matins about the Transfiguration, which is evident in the chillingly beautiful composition with its elements of dissonance.
Wexford Carol, arranged by John Rutter, is a very old carol from the Irish county of Wexford, probably dating back to the Middle Ages. William Grattan Flood, a musicologist and composer, heard the tune performed by a local singer and included it in the Oxford Book of Carols, allowing it to reach a wider audience and gain popularity.
A Bright Star Shineth also includes three previously unrecorded songs. Our conductor David Molin has arranged one of Sweden’s most beloved Christmas songs, Nu tändas tusen juleljus. Several versions of Julvisa/Christmas Song by Jean Sibelius exist, but we chose Anna Cederberg-Orreteg’s lovely interpretation. And the third previously unrecorded piece is a Swedish language version of Ola Gjeilo’s Det hev ei rose sprunge.
2017 marks the tenth anniversary of the Härlanda Kammarkör/Chamber Choir. This CD is our birthday gift to ourselves and it is also a brilliant Christmas present for the world.”

”…unga, fräscha röster (som) tveklöst klockrent levererar mångfasetterad julmusik på elitnivå med ypperlig klang och dynamik … fullkomnad julstämning!” Jerker Sjöqvist, Kyrkomusikernas Tidning

Innehåll / Contents:
Nu tändas tusen juleljus / Emmy Köhler / arr: David Molin och Jan-Åke Hillerud
Veni, Emmanuel / Trad. France / arr: Jan Åke Hillerud
Ave Maria / Franz Biebl
Julvisa / Jean Sibelius / Zacharias Topelius / arr: Anna Cederberg-Orreteg
There is no rose / Paul Hillier
Gammal julvisa. Guds son är född / Trad. Sweden / arr: Otto Olsson
O magnum mysterium / Francis Poulenc
Det hev ei rose sprunge / Ola Gjeilo / Thekla Knös
Gaudete / Trad. Piæ Cantiones, arr: Karl Jenkins / Ezechielis Porta
O magnum mysterium / Morten Lauridsen
Tre kungar / Peter Cornelius / Karl-Fredrik Palmstierna
Heyr, himna smi∂ur / Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson / Kolbeinn Tumason
In dulci jubilo | Robert Lucas Pearsall
O nata lux / Thomas Tallis
Wexford Carol / Trad. Ireland / arr: John Rutter
Julsång. O helga natt / Adolphe Adam / Placide Cappeau / Augustin Kock
Stilla natt / Franz Gruber / arr: David Wikander / Joseph Mohr / Carl Oscar Mannström



So Fair and Bright

The Swedish Chamber Choir (former Simon Phipps Vokalensemble) is one of the jewels in the crown of Sweden’s unmatched choral tradition. Here the choir follows specialist recordings of music by Benjamin Britten, Francis Poulenc and Johannes Brahms with an exquisite celebration of the northern European Christmas.

The choir describes its album So Fair and Bright as ‘a Christmas smörgåsbord where everyone can find at least some of their favourite dishes, while being tempted to try some intriguing novelties as well.’ Britten and Poulenc reference the ensemble’s past projects; Grieg and Nielsen glance over borders and waters to Norway and Denmark. But while there are evocative Yuletide masterpieces included by the likes of Rutter, Pärt, Gabrieli and Sweelinck, the album’s heart lies in Sweden – where traditional folk songs meet seasonal gems by Hugo Alfvén, Gustav Nordqvist and other.

The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra’s brass quintet join the Choir under its founder and director Simon Phipps for the recording, which is as much a demonstration of choral technique and prowess as it is a seasonal celebration. Phipps reveals his experience as an opera conductor in his attention to text and detail, while the choir’s full-bodied but delicate singing – and notably bright, smooth soprano tone – combines atmosphere with excellence.

A must-have Christmas album, wherever you’re celebrating!

Contents:
O vad glädje ifrån Gud, from Piae Cantiones / arr: Mats Åberg
Hodie Christus natus est / Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck / arr: Simon Phipps
Ave Maris stella / Edvard Grieg
A Hymn to the Virgin / Benjamin Britten
Stilla i mitt sinne / Bengt Lundin / Birgitta Wennerberg-Berggren
Bogoróditse Djévo / Arvo Pärt
Förunderligt och märkligt / Carl Nielsen / Hans Adolf Brorson, Oscar Mannström
Nativity Carol / John Rutter
Stjärnan / Susanne Rosenberg
O Morgenstern / Arvo Pärt
La lune est levée / Trad / arr: George Aubanel
O Jesu Guds son / J.S. Bach / Valentin Thilo
Jubilate Deo / Giovanni Gabrieli / arr: Simon Phipps
Julsång / Hugo Alfvén / Edvard Evers
O magnum mysterium / Francis Poulenc
In the Bleak Midwinter / Benjamin Britten / Christina Rossetti
Jul, jul, strålande jul / Gustaf Nordqvist / Edvard Evers
Riu, riu / Mateo Flecha / arr: Noah Greenburg
Gammel julesang / P.E. Lange-Müller / Ernst von der Recke
Yeoman’s carol / Simon Phipps / arr: Henrik Torolphi

 



Voices in the Darkness

Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, under ledning av Fredrik Malmberg, möter här nyskriven musik av Daniel Börtz.

”… fabulösa prestationer i fråga om intonation, insikt och uttryck. Ett exklusivt lyckokast för Footprint Records … Det poetiska budskapets tematiska repertoar tangerar själens antipoder. Därför är ’Voices of Darkness’ så övertygande: så världsåskådningsmässigt komplext, så personligt laddat. Så lysande gestaltat.” Calhåkan Larsén, Opus 

The human voice is occupying an increasingly central role in the work of Swedish composer Daniel Börtz. This new album presents a multi-movement choral work and a song cycle; both speak of the composer’s intense reaction to texts and his stringent belief in the power of the human voice in a world of violence and clamor.
Börtz’s musical style constantly evolves but has embodied a new focus, humanity and harmonic richness following his work in the opera house. In the Darkness of Voices for choir followed the opera Medea (2016), responding to Göran Sonnevi’s evocative text across seven movements that confront pain, sensuality, love, brotherhood and annihilation with richness, delicacy and atmosphere and a wide dynamic range.
Sound Songs for baritone and piano followed the opera Marie Antoinette (1998) and sets poetic texts by Sonnevi that are full of pictorial evocation and dramatic vision. Börtz’s concise, concentrated but varied songs represented a major addition to the Nordic song repertory when they were published in 1998.
For words and music that hinge on the respect and dependency of fellow human beings, Footprint is pleased to have collaborated with some of the foremost artists in Europe for this new release. The justly famous Eric Ericsson Chamber Choir performs In the Darkness of Voices under its chief conductor Fredrik Malmberg while baritone Fredrik Zetterström and pianist Thomas Schuback unite for Sound Songs. Into the Darkness documents significant work by Börtz and Sonneri, two of the most important figures in Sweden’s contemporary creative life.

Contents:

Drömde om dig
Är det enda folket
Gud, som är de levande Gud
Ser in i klangernas öga
O rör vid mig
Också ångesten
Du som finns för mig
Snabbt rör sig vinden
Det finns det oerhörda
Snart ska jag förlora min mor
Djupen ropar till djupen
I tornets djupa frid
Horisontklang
Gul eranthis



Skuggorna och ljusen. Shadows and light

Jonas Forssell music
Magnus Florin lyrics
Vokalharmonin – Sofia Niklasson soprano, Anna Zander mezzo soprano, Sara Niklasson alto, Love Enström tenor, Ove Pettersson bass
Axelsson & Nilsson Duo – Jonny Axelsson percussion, Ivo Nilsson trombone
Fredrik Malmberg conductor

Jonas Forssell:
”The text has its own, rather dramatic story. We – Magnus Florin and I – discussed possible subject matters, modernisation, singability and sales potential, but when we were rapidly approaching ”the moment of no return” events took place that radically changed our course. Magnus wrote the following in an email on July 24, 2011:

… now everything is overshadowed by Utøya. The number of dead that keeps on rising, the survivors sharing their stories. After these days, the thought has been growing inside me that it is a viable perspective for writing. And adapt it to the Tenebrae format of threes, of trinity – days, hours, prayers. I’m sure there are many potential tricky spots, but the subject matter is grand in scale and easy to relate to. If we proceed, I would like to find support in John Donne’s “No man is an island”, which has the light we want to include as well. What do you think?

I felt the same way and that’s what we did. The trinity pattern is repeated in countless ways. The tragedy on Utøya island in Norway where 69 young lives were snuffed out took place on the 22^nd of July, which was a Friday – a Friday of suffering. Magnus’ soaring yet spare poetry is presented as three days where each day begins with sunrise and concludes at sundown, and where each day is divided into three portions that correspond to the three nocturnes of the Tenebrae, and where every part is in three lines, like the three responsories in each nocturne. Musically, I treat each part more like a response, while Good Friday is twice as long as the other days.

Interfolied between days, and in the middle of the Good Friday portion, are “original responsories”, three in number here too, from each of the solemn week days. Between days one and two, Eram quasi agnus innocens (“I was like an innocent lamb”) from Orlando di Lasso’s four-part cycle. In the middle of the long second day, Don Carlo Gesualdo di Venosa’s six-part Animam meam dilectam tradidi in manus iniquorum (“I delivered the soul I loved into the hands of the wicked”); and before the final day, Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Aestimatus sum cum descentibus in lacum (“I am counted among those that go down to the depths”. The responsories are all about the anguish a vulnerable person facing death experiences, without being tied to any specific time, place or person.”



Sven-Eric Johanson

Ett klingande porträtt av tonsättaren Sven-Eric Johanson.

Fancies
Skaraborgs Vokalkvartett, Lars Hägglund, piano

Tvinnat silke
Skaraborgs Vokalkvartett

Tio epigram
Henrik Löwenmark, piano

Pianosonat nr 2
Henrik Löwenmark

Variationer över en korsfararsång från 1100-talet
Blåsarkvintetten Arion

Sonat för soloflöjt
Bo Nyberg

Symfoni nr 12, ”Sinfonia da camera”
Musik i Västs Kammarensemble, Petter Sundkvist



Winter Sounds

Uppsala Akademiska Kammarkör under ledning av Stefan Parkman framför musik som på olika sätt är inspirerad av vintern. Repertoaren reflekterar vinterns alla olika aspekter såsom jul, nyår, snö och våra känslor kring den mörka årstiden och vinterljuset. Innehållet är en blandning av sakral musik i traditionella hymner, nyskrivna arrangemang av kända melodier och profana sånger om vintern.

Kören är en av våra mest hyllade akademiska körer och startades 1957 med körnestorn Eric Ericson som dirigent. Den leds nu av Stefan Parkman, professor vid Uppsala Universitets Körcentrum och dirigent för Radiokören i Köln, Westdeutscher Rundfunkchor. Den så vackert sjungande Karin Dahlberg (tidigare Roman) medverkar på flera spår och är en alltmer uppmärksammad sopransolist vi alldeles säkert kommer att få höra mer av i framtiden. På skivan hör vi även den framstående organisten Andrew Canning, verksam i Uppsala domkyrka.

On Winter Sounds, the Academy Chamber Choir of Uppsala, conducted by Stefan Parkman, performs music that in various ways is inspired by the winter period. The repertoire reflects all the different aspects of the winter, such as Christmas, New Year, the snow and our emotions for the dark period and the Nordic winter light. The recording contains a mix of sacred music in traditional hymns, newly written arrangements of well-known melodies as well as profane songs about winter.

The choir is one of Sweden’s most celebrated academic choirs and was founded in 1957 with the Swedish choral nestor Eric Ericson as it’s first conductor. The present conductor, Stefan Parkman, is a professor at the
University of Uppsala as well as the headmaster of the Westdeutscher Rundfunkchor in Cologne, Germany. Karin Dahlberg, a soloist gaining more and more attention in Sweden and whose clear voice we will definitely hear more of in the near future, carries the beautiful soprano solo part that is heard on several tracks. This CD also features the renowned organ player Andrew Canning, affiliated at the Uppsala Cathedral.

Contents:
Den signade dag (melody from Äppelbo). Arr: Nils Lindberg
Maria durch ein Dornwald ging (first recording). Arr: Guido Kaiser
From Trois chansons: Yver. Charles d’Orleans; Claude Debussy
To shorten winter’s sadness. Thomas Weelkes
Deck the Hall. Thomas Oliphant; trad. arr: John Rutter
The Shepherd’s carol. Bob Chilcott
Mariae Wiegenlied. Martin Boelitz; Max Reger
Lux aurumque. Edward Esch, Charles Anthony Silvestri; Eric Whitacre
In dulci jubilo (first recording). Heinrich Seuse, Robert Lucas de Pearsall; trad. arr: Alexander Jan Öberg
Silent Night. Josef Mohr; Franz Xaver Gruber, arr: Gene Puerling
From Second Sacred Concert: T.G.T.T. & Heaven. Duke Ellington
Snabbt jagar stormen våra år (Psaltare och lyra). Erik Axel Karlfeldt; Sven-Eric Johanson
Denn Er hat seinen Engeln befohlen über dir. Psalm 91; Felix Mendelssohn
Betlehems stjärna. Viktor Rydberg; Alice Tegnér
From Un soir de neige: De grandes cuillers de neige, La bonne neige. Paul Éluard; Francis Poulenc
Vinterpastoral. Erland von Koch
En skrift i snön. Kristina Lugn; Benny Andersson



Rosa Mystica

Maria Magdalena Kammarkör sings under conductor Mats Nilsson ”choral music for the soul”.

”The sound they make is consistently pleasing. The blend and balance are excellent, the tuning is flawless and the sound is fresh and bright … This very fine choir has been most sympathetically recorded … From first to last the singing is extremely fine and the music itself is lovely. I enjoyed this CD very much.” John Quinn, MusicWeb International

Contents:
Vaclovas Augustinas: Hymne à Saint Martin
Sven-David Sandström: Kom till mig
Gösta Nystroeum: Huru skön och huru ljuv
Lars-Erik Larsson: Agnus Dei (from Missa brevis)
Ola Gjeilo: Ubi caritas
Josef Gabriel Rheinberger: Kyrie (from Cantus missae)
Thomas Jennefelt: Bön
Charles V Stanford: Beati quorum
Benjamin Britten: Rosa Mystica (from A.M.D.G.)
Eric Whitacre: Lux aurumque
Henry Purcell: Remember not, Lord, our offences
John Tavener: Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God
Jaakko Mäntyjärvi: Come Away, Death
Hugo Alfvén: Aftonen
Karin Rehnqvist: Natt över jorden
Mats Nilsson (arr): Kvällen stundar
Mats Nilsson (arr): Värmlandsvisan
Lars Edlund: Vaggvisa



Urgency of Now

Urgency of Now – fresh, exciting, challenging!

Vocal Art Ensemble of Sweden treats us to choral music that takes on the burning questions of our day and age, such as the environment, democracy, xenophobia and equal rights regardless of colour, creed or ethnicity. A celebration of life!

A musical manifestation of our dedication to our times, the will to be an advocate of humanitarian values in a fast-paced society.

Two brand-new commissioned pieces for choir and percussion now enrich the Swedish choral repertoire thanks to support from Statens Kulturråd: Ulrika Emanuelsson’s ”Där livet klingar ut”, about the courage to stand up for a more humane society and my own composition “Urgency of Now”, about the unfulfilled promises of democracy.

Fresh arrangements for V.A.E. from two colourful singer-songwriters that move effortlessly between genres: Vienna Teng pokes fun at our information society in “Hymn of Acxion” and Imogen Heap speaks out against xenophobia in “Hide and Seek”.

Listeners are also treated to a burst of Filipino energy by John August Pamintuan and a plaintiff prayer for a better world by the Cuban composer Calixto Alvarez. Deservedly showcased with several tracks, Ēriks Ešenvalds of Lithuania displays his personal touch and his magic “singing” glasses.

Works by Maurice Ravel, Sven-David Sandström and Cesar Alejandro Carillo celebrate life and convey the message that we can make a difference. Samuel Barber’s “Agnus Dei” sums up the importance of personal growth and refinement.

Daniel Berg & Fredrik Duvling, Rhythm Art Duo, supports as percussionists on some of the tracks.

Recording of the month:
”This is, quite simply, 61 minutes of outstanding singing. This is an expert choir who blend together wonderfully and who create a sound that consistently delights the ear … They’ve been most sensitively recorded by Per Sjösten in what sounds like a lovely acoustic.” John Quinn, MusicWeb International

”Den här skivan är enormt imponerande … elitensemble på internationell nivå … sagolikt säker teknik … Sällan har jag varit lika tagen av en ny körskiva.” Stig Jacobsson, Hifi och musik, som utnämnde skivan till Årets bästa klassiska!

”Denna skiva är angelägen, den berör, den konfronterar och den öppnar en mängd fönster … Den är på allvar.” Per Rönnblom, Kyrkomusikernas Tidning

Innehåll / Contents:

The new moon – Ēriks Ešenvalds
O salutaris hostia – Ēriks Ešenvalds
To See a World – Sven-David Sandström
Le jardin féérique – Maurice Ravel (Transcription Thierry Machuel)
Hymn of Acxiom – Vienna Teng (Arr. Henrik Dahlgren)
Urgency of Now – Jan Yngwe
Där livet klingar ut – Ulrika Emanuelsson
Magnificat – César Alejandro Carillo
Hide and Seek – Imogen Heap (Arr. Jan Yngwe)
Lacrimosa – Calixto Alvarez
De profundis – John August Pamintuan
Agnus Dei – Samuel Barber
Stars – Ēriks Ešenvalds



To See a World

Erik Westberg dirigerar Kammarkören vid Musikhögskolan i Piteå. Gabriel Kopparmark på piano.

Innehåll:

Snabbt jagar stormen (S-E Johansson)
Ack, ack om det vore dag (Trad. Arr Per Ekedahl)
Stars (E. Esenvalds)
Ur Fancies (S-E Johansson):
Sylvia
Under the Greenwood Tree
Fancy
O Mistress Mine
Lovers Love the Spring
Hark! Hark! The Lark
To See a World (S-D Sandström)
Trilo (Trad. Arr Ale Möller)
O Domine (T Jennefelt)
Vuojnha Biegga (J. Sandström)
Jordens oro viker (Ludwig Norman)
Laudi (I. Lidholm):
I. Homo natus de muliere
II. Haec dictit Dominus
III. Laudate Dominum omnes gentes
Ave Virgo sanctissima (D. Azurza)
Versa est in luctum (T. Luis de Victoria)
The Tyger (E. Råberg)
Vårnatt (W. Stenhammar)



L’amour et la foi

Under ledning av Marcus Creed sjunger och spelar här några av Danmarks främsta musiker musik av fransmannen Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992).

Innehåll:

Toi petites liturgies de la Présence divine
– Antienne de la conversation intérieure
– Séquence du Verbe, cantique divin
– Psalmodie de l’Ubiquité par Amour
O sacrum convivium!
Cinq Rechants
– Hayo kapri tama
– Ma première fois
– Ma robe d’amour
– Niokhamâ palalane soukî
– Mayoma kalimolimo



To the Field of Stars

S:t Jacobs kammarkör under ledning av Gary Graden presenterar med denna CD nyskriven musik på temat resande och pilgrimsvandring: Resande i tid och rum. Resande i kosmos för att finna sig själv och livets mening. En central gestalt i texterna är de resandes skyddshelgon, Sankt Jacob – Santiago.
Gabriel Jacksons dryga 30 minuter långa kantat ”To the Field of Stars” kretsar kring pilgrimsstaden Santiago di Compostela (”stjärnfältet”) med texter hämtade från olika tidsepoker och olika delar av världen, av bland andra Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman och William Cowper. Stycket är ett beställningsverk för kör, cello och slagverk och ges här ut för första gången på skiva.
I plattans övriga två verk står nobelpristagaren i litteratur från 1913, Rabindranath Tagore för texterna. Komponisten Hans Schanderl använder en tysk översättning av Gitanjali nr 12 i sitt ostinatoliknande stycke ”Pilgrimage”. Texten är en andlig resa som avslutas med konstaterandet ”jag är” – ich bin.
CD:n avslutas med Enrico Miaromas vackra ”Farewell”, med text från Gitanjali nr 93. ”Jag är redo för min avfärd. Jag lämnar dig nycklarna till mitt hus och tackar dig för dina sista värmande ord. Vi var grannar så länge, men jag fick ta emot mer än jag kunde ge.”

Noterna till Farewell har givits ut i häftet Two Tagore Songs, och finns att köpa här.

”To the Field of Stars, ypperliga S:t Jacobs Kammarkörs nya skiva, är rena julafton för alla vänner av nyskriven körmusik av det mer lättlyssnade, omedelbart kommunicerande slaget … Gary Graden lockar ett lika exakt som känslofullt musicerande ur leden. Stämbalansen är i det närmaste perfekt, klangen fräsch och renheten föredömlig. Akustiken och efterklangen i S:t Jacobs kyrka hör till de läckraste jag hört på bra länge.” Mats Liljeroos, Hufvudstadbladet

”Som helhet är det (…) en tveklöst njutbar skiva. S:t Jacobs kammarkör är slipade, ljudet är kristallklart och sammansättningen av de olika verken känns kärleksfullt genomtänkt.” Nicholas Ringskog Ferrada-Noli, Opus

”Throughout the disc, which contains very demanding music, the performances of the S:t Jacobs Chamber Choir are exceptionally fine in every respect …
[To the field of stars] is an important, richly imagined work and it receives a stunning performance. Not only is the singing tremendous but also the three instrumentalists make expert contributions.
… I’m seriously impressed by the performances of the S:t Jakobs Chamber Choir. All three composers make significant and varying demands but these fine singers are equal to all the challenges. Moreover, the sheer quality of the sound they make gives consistent pleasure. This is an expert ensemble and it’s clear that Gary Graden has prepared them with exceptional thoroughness. What distinguishes these performances, I think, is not just the very high level of technical accomplishment but also the choir’s understanding of the words and the music.
The recording is very good indeed, putting a becoming bloom on the sound of the choir while allowing plenty of detail. The booklet is very well produced. It contains very useful notes by the three composers on their respective pieces and the texts are clearly laid out.
This is a very rewarding disc which all collectors interested in the choral music of our time should investigate.” John Quinn, MusicWeb International

The S:t Jacobs Chamber Choir under the direction of Gary Graden presents this CD of newly composed music on the themes of travel and pilgrimage: journeys in time and space. Cosmic journeys to find one’s self and the meaning of life. A central figure in the lyrics is the patron saint of travelers, Saint James, Sankt Jacob, Santiago.
Gabriel Jackson’s 30-minute-long cantata “To the Field of Stars” revolves around the pilgrim city of Santiago di Compostela (”field of stars”). The lyrics stem from a variety of eras and locations, penned by poets such as Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman as William Cowper. This piece was commissioned for choir, cello and percussion, and this is the first recording released.
The other two pieces on this CD feature lyrics by the 1913 Nobel Prize laureate in literature, Rabindranath Tagore.  The composer Hans Schanderl was inspired by the German version of Gitanjali No. 12 in the ostinato-like “Pilgrimage”, taking us on a spiritual voyage that ends with the declaration “I am” – “Ich bin”.
The final track is Enrico Miaroma’s “Farewell”, with lyrics from Gitanjali No. 93. “ I am ready for my departure. I leave you the keys to my house and thank you for your last kind words. We were neighbors for so long, but I received more than I could give.”

The scores for Farewell are published in a booklet called Two Tagore Songs, and can be bought here.

Innehåll / Contents:
Gabriel Jackson: To the Field of Stars
Hans Schanderl: Pilgrimage – Lang ist die Zeit und weit der Weg
Enrico Miaroma: Farewell

Medverkande solister är Erik Uusijärvi på cello, samt Anders Åstrand och Rolf Landberg på percussion.

Jackson: Miracles

Jackson: Our journey had advanced

Miaroma: Farewell



Acqua Alta

Serikon is in many ways an unique ensemble, with the concept to play renaissance music on period instruments and contemporary music, written for these instruments. Or, as Daniel Stighäll, artistic leader of the group expresses himself; to paint motives from our time using renaissance colors. Acqua Alta means “high water” and with this production, Daniel Stighäll raises his view to get a larger perspective over the condition of our planet. Our focus is at Venice, a city flooded more and more frequently and with higher water levels from the rising sea. Serikon brings us to a point in time when Venice was the cultural center of the world. We meet the grandiose music by Andrea & Giovanni Gabrieli, Claudio Merulo and Adrian Willaert, but also the subtle early baroque by Giovanni Rovetta, Barbara Strozzi and Dario Castello. The new motives are presented by the Swedish composer Jan Sandström and the Brittish composer Alexander Campkin. Sandström’s piece is based on a personal description of Venice by the American poet Meena Alexander and Campkin’s piece on his own translation of an excerpt from Tao Te Ching, which becomes a comment on overindulgence and greed. On this production, Daniel has gathered some of the best renaissance musicians in the world, conducted by Erik Westberg and guiding us through the most beautiful alleys of the renaissance and playing music to us that we have never heard before.

Sanctus

Sonata Duodecima, Libro II

Classical Music Magazine review: ”Monotony is deftly avoided by the inclusion of new works for the same forces by Alexander Campkin and Jan Sandström, both of whom respond with flair. Recommended.” 5/5

Early Music Review: ”I don’t know the players, but they are impressive, sensitive and not quite as overdone as one sometimes hears. I found it entirely enjoyable. Well worth buying.” CB

BBC CD review: ”From the ensemble Serikon, meaning silk, weaving together cloth arriving in venice from the silk road and the complex colours of the city’s cloth dyes and painters. And a new thread in Serikon’s fabric: a newly commissioned copy of the Venitian tenor trombone. You’ll taste its flavour in the new music commissioned by Alexander Campkin and Jan Sandstrom to sit alongside some of the splendours of Venice’s musical past.”
Norrländska Socialdemokraten review: ”Campkin’s Colour blinds the eye is really fascinating… a delightful and thrilling experience.”

Musicians:

Anna Jobrant, Virve Karén • soprano
Anna Zander Sand, Katarina Karlsson • alto
Martin Vanberg, Philip Sherman • tenor
Joakim Schuster, Anders Edström • bass
Ann Wallström, Marie-Louise Marming • violin, viola
Susanne Brunström Stighäll • viola
Nora Roll • viola da gamba, lirone
William Dongois • cornetto, tenor cornetto, recorder
Judith Pacquier • cornetto, recorder
Daniel Stighäll, Jonathan Wettermark • trombone
Katharina Bäuml • dulcian, tenor dulcian
Lars Sjöstedt • organ, harpsichord
Magnus Kjellson • chamber organ
Anders Ericson, Dohyo Sol • theorbo
Erik Westberg • conductor

Contents:
Giovanni Gabrieli • Canzon X á 8 • 5.01
Claudio Merulo • Sanctus á 16 • 3.00
Alexander Campkin • Colour Blinds the Eye • 9.25
Adrian Willaert • De profundis • 6.16
Barbara Strozzi • Salve Regina • 9.46
Dario Castello • Sonata duodecima, Libro II • 7.49
Giovanni Rovetta • Domine Deus Noster • 4.44
Jan Sandström • Acqua Alta • 19.44
Andrea Gabrieli • Domine ne in furore (Psalm 6) • 7.16
Giovanni Gabrieli • Canzon II á 4 • 3.00
Omnes gentes plaudite manibus á 16 • 3.23



Originals

Musik beställd av Erik Westbergs vokalensemble. Mattias Wager medverkar på orgel och Carl-Henrik Fernandi på sopransaxofon.

Innehåll:

The Tyger (B. Tommy Andersson)
Tribute to Caesar
Kyrie (J. Sandström)
Gloria (J. Ferm)
Agnus Dei (J. Ferm)
Regina Cœli (R. Miranda)
Laudamus Te (S-D. Sandström)
Triumf att finnas till (S. Ahlin)
Klag-lied (D. Buxtehude)
Klag-lied (B. A. Drage)
Från ingenstans (E. Westberg)
The Woman with the Alabaster Box (A. Pärt)
Lux Æterna (A. Nilsson)