Classical Music

Classical Music

Composer Matthew Peterson, nyckelharpist Josefina Paulson and the Uppsala Vocal Ensemble invite you deep into Swedish nature, literally and figuratively. Footprint Records is proud to present Fields of Light – an exploration of Sweden’s folk traditions, its distinctive light from dawn to dusk and the strain of melancholy that lies underneath its national songs and dances. Peterson’s mystical settings of verses by the Finnish poet Edith Södergran (1892-1923) range from nuanced, minor-key nocturnes to frolicking dances, all of them woven with the plaintive, resonant thread of Josefina Paulson’s nyckelharpa – the ‘keyed fiddle’ that is Sweden’s national folk instrument. In between, Paulson’s instrument leads renditions of Swedish folk songs for all seasons, sung in evocative arrangements. Peterson is an award-winning Swedish-American composer known for his work on both sides of the Atlantic. He describes Södergran’s poems as ‘lyrical and free, rich in color and detail,’ an apt description of his own atmospheric and deeply absorbing choral music, which uses much more than the vocal chords to evoke its broad, luminous landscapes. His works are sung here by a radiant, precise and beautifully blended Uppsala Vocal Ensemble under musical director and principal conductor since 2011, Sofia Ågren. In Josefina Paulson, the choir collaborates with one of the most respected exponents of the nyckelharpa and 2016’s World Nyckelharpa Champion. She joined the singers and Ågren in the warm acoustic of Bäringe Church to create a recording that combines atmosphere, resonance and perfection to magical effect.

Harald Svensson and his unique undecet take us on a journey through the world of improvised art music. One of the driving forces on the Swedish improv scene since the 70s, known from ensembles such as Egba, Entra Live & Priming Orchestra, Svensson is also a highly appreciated solo pianist. He moves freely between genres and partners with classical and improv musicians alike. In this undecet, Svensson joins forces with ten top-flight musicians in a unique setting to freely interpret his sketches and compositions. This recording took place on a single day in January 2019, at Spinnroad Studios on the outskirts of Gothenburg, Sweden. The album Sketches and Fancies was engineered by Per Sj�sten and produced by Harald Svensson & Per Sj�sten.

A prizewinning soloist and concertmaster of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Spain, the Romanian violinist Vladimir Stanculeasa joins the renowned Australian pianist James Maddox for a mouthwatering selection of twentieth-century violin sonatas that traverse Europe, from Romania to Sweden via France. George Enescu’s 1926 Violin Sonata No 3 fuses the exotic folk music of Romania with the free-flowing rhapsody and kaleidoscopic colors of early twentieth-century Vienna and Paris. This work full of distinctive Romanian inflections is one of the unsung gems of the violin sonata repertory, and is presented on this new recording just as Europe’s major orchestras and opera houses are reappraising Enescu’s extraordinary sound-world and legacy. Carl Nielsen’s Violin Sonata No 2 gives voice to the Danish composer’s compelling harboring of musical energy, flux and confrontation, but with a long-breathed lyricism that is often absent from the composer’s best known symphonic works. Completing the programme is Olivier Messiaen’s Fantasie and Thème et Variations – music which draws us closely into the French composer’s unique, searchingly lyrical sound world. ‘Both subtle and brilliant’, writes The Strad of Stanculeasa’s playing. Both he and Maddox dig deep into this rich music, drawing maximum colour and expression from their instruments while arguing the case for their chosen works as pivotal and fascinating creations from a uniquely productive time.

Footprint is proud to present a probing reaction to one of the landmarks of western art, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, from five Swedish composers and the acclaimed recorder-organ duo Kondens. Goldberg 1.5 is the duo’s fresh look at the Baroque masterpiece Bach’s Goldberg Variations premiered in 2016, which asks how living composers and audiences can react anew to Bach’s hallowed but fertile music. Alongside Bach’s originals, it includes five new works by composers Lisa Ullén, Mattias Petersson, Ida Lundén, Jan Sandström and Daniel Hjorth.  Kondens is increasingly recognized as a distinctive creative force on the Nordic new music scene. Lisa Oscarsson is Organist to the City of Umeå and a graduate of the Royal College of Music and the Concert Organist Programme at the Piteå School of Music. My Eklund studied at the Malmö Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music and is known as one of Europe’s most progressive recorder players. They use an assortment of instruments on Goldberg 1.5 including two organs at Växjo Cathedral and Eklund’s collection of modern and Baroque recorders. Goldberg 1.5 takes listeners on an absorbing, boundary-blurring journey from the familiar to the new. It is blessed with a single focus but leads to an explosion of musical possibilities and reactions, and is realized through sensitive performances that push the boundaries of technique. They are captured with clarity and presence on this new recording.

At Footprint Records, we are very proud to present Naoko Sakata's first solo album, Inner Planets. Over the last years, she has appeared in many different improv constellations on the Swedish jazz scene, but during her ten years in Sweden, Ms. Sakata has also evolved into an amazing solo improviser on the piano. These recordings were made with Ms. Sakata and a Fazioli Grand Piano at Studio Epidemin, in February 2019. On Inner Planets, you will hear six selected and un-edited takes from this recording session. Per Sjösten made this DXD recording and Naoko played straight from her heart - no compositions. We love it and we hope you will too. Naoko Sakata can also be heard on the albums Dreaming Tree (Naoko Sakata Trio, FR 084) and Thomas Markusson's Open (FR 107) from Footprint Records.

Two of the finest choirs in northern Europe are heard on this new recording celebrating the distinctive but entirely natural voice of Thomas Jennefelt. ‘We need the night, it is a sanctuary’, writes Jennefelt. ‘At night…things we are saying in daylight are singing in us.’ Nocturnal Singing (2010) was commissioned by the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, of which Jennefelt was once a member, and dedicated to its erstwhile founder. It is a virile yet melancholy statement of belief in the power of the collective human voice, with no recourse to words, which is full of Jennefelt’s trademark clarity and his alluring combination of musical intimacy and sweep. This meticulous performance was made by another choir founded by Ericson, the Swedish Radio Choir, which is joined by its sister symphony orchestra under one of the most sought-after conductors of our time, Andrew Manze. Some of the sensuality that finds its way into Nocturnal Singing is heard in the more obviously theatrical Four Opera Choruses, written in 2016 for ‘as yet unwritten operas.’ We hear yet more strong contrasts and clear narratives, but always music that is born of the voice despite its complexity and theoretical rigor. This performance from the Eric Ericsson Chamber Choir and Royal Swedish Navy Band under Fredrik Malmberg unleashes all the inherent drama in Jennefelt’s scores.

Tantum showcases the exceptional talents of Karin Nelson, Anders Jormin, and Jonas Simonson who once again treat us to a genre-bending musical experience. It's playful, a generous give-and-take, where their combined backgrounds in classical music, improve and world music fuse into a sum surpassing the parts, an artistic smorgasbord feast of genres spiced with tradition and history. "Tantum" is the second album featuring this project; a follow-up to the critically acclaimed "Songs in Meantone" released by Footprint Records. Karin Nelson, an organist much in demand as a soloist, is an authority in the fields of free improvisation and in early music. Currently, she is Head of organ and church music both at the Norwegian Academy of music and at the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg. Anders Jormin is a renowned jazz bassist with the world as his workplace, touring with various constellations of internationally acclaimed names within jazz/improve. A recipient of numerous awards and prizes for his unique artistry, he also holds an honorary doctorate from the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts, Helsinki. Jonas Simonson has carved out a solid reputation as a flutist in the folk and world music genres. He's also contributed greatly to the evolution of modern Nordic folk music. His work is featured on numerous recordings and he is a highly experienced and respected educator at the World Music Department of the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothernburg.

Footprint Records is proud to present a very special Christmas gift: the album 'A Christmas Wish,' performed by the Gothenburg Youth Choir under the choral direction of Anne Johansson. The Gothenburg Youth Choir, one of Sweden's most acclaimed, consists of boys and girls between the ages of 16 and 25. Anne Johansson, who has dedicated her professional life to teaching secondary-school children to sing, is an authority on young voices. The album contains arrangements of traditional Christmas songs from Sweden and France, as well as compositions by Benjamin Britten, Max Reger, and others- it is the perfect accompaniment to the Yuletide season. The Gothenburg Youth Choir wishes you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

One of Sweden’s finest mixed choirs presents an album of brand new choral works that challenge with our perceptions of ‘experimental’ music. Three of today’s brightest Swedish composers feature on the album from Uppsala Vocal Ensemble under its galvanizing conductor since 2011, Sofia Ågren. All three new works on UrVerk are the fruits of a new kind of experimentation. In creating his 2013 piece for choir and saxophone Ungefär fyra improvisationer, composer Emil Råberg participated in extensive workshops with the Uppsala Vocal Ensemble in order to tease-out a viable expression and equilibrium between the instrument and the singers. The result is a fascinating and febrile mix of written and improvised music in four movements. In creating her new work Andas den ut ur mitt bröst, composer Maria Lithell Flyg explored the idea of singing as physical release from the bodily and emotional inhibitions of everyday life. The resulting music breaks and ‘breathes out’ from its opening rumblings with distinctively human joy. Martin Q Larsson’s Hundra tusen miljarder uses Raymond Queneau’s ‘interactive poetry’ of the same title to create a vocal collage of music and thought – poetry and conversation – that can never be the same twice. This fascinating and highly involving piece underlines the communicative and technical abilities of the Uppsala Vocal Ensemble and crowns an album that show the group’s heart as much as its versatility.

Footprint is delighted to release the debut recording from Harlanda Chamber Choir in the ensemble's tenth anniversary year. 'A bright star shineth' is an atmospheric celebration of Christmas music from throughout Europe from the Sixteenth Century to present day. This recording charts a Christmas journey from France to Iceland, via England, Wales, Ireland and of course Sweden. Traditional songs in alluring arrangements by �ke Hillerud and John Rutter and more are heard alongside original compositions by the likes of Francis Poulenc, Thomas Tallis and Morten Lauridsen. The choir pays homage to it's own roots with a traditional song from the Halland Province, 'Guds son �r f�dd' (arranged by Otto Olsson). Two premiere recordings from Scandinavian composers complete the picture: Ola Gjeilo's striking 'Det hev ei rose sprunge' and Anna Cederberg-Orreteg's emotive interpretation of Sibelius's 'Julvisa.' With fulsome, warm singing and careful direction from Molin, 'A bright star shineth' combines head and heart this festive season, "our birthday gift to ourselves and a Christmas present to the world," in the choir's own words.

With its reputation for technical excellence, it was only a matter of time before the Academy Chamber Choir of Uppsala recorded one of the most testing choral works in the a cappella repertory: Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil. With his beloved Russian homeland in turmoil in 1915, Rachmaninoff turned inward: to his deep personal faith and to his country’s glorious sacred music tradition. The result was one of the composer’s most honest and moving works, an aggregation of the Orthodox offices of Vespers, Matins and First Hour that moves from confession to celebration. Nine of Rachmaninoff’s movements are based on traditional orthodox chant; the rest are freer in form but imbued with the same scented spirituality that lies at the heart of the Russian Orthodox choral sound. Rachmaninoff’s work is reflective and deeply moving. It offers praise, meditation, penitence and proclamation. Like the composer, the Academy Chamber Choir of Uppsala – founded by Eric Ericson in 1957 and now under the stewardship of Stefan Parkman – take the text as their starting point. Captured in atmospheric sound at Bälinge Church in Sweden, the choir brings exceptional bend and balance to the score with a rich tutti sound and beautifully plaintive solos from Annika Hudak and Patrik Wallin. Footprint is proud to release this wholly distinctive and devotional interpretation of Rachmaninoff’s masterpiece on record, the first from a Scandinavian choir for many years.

The human voice is occupying an increasingly central role in the work of Swedish composer Daniel Börtz. This new album presents a mutli-mvoement 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 richenss following his work in the opera house. In the Darkness of Vocies 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. Sounds' 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 Ericson Chamber Choir performs In the Darkenss of Voices under its chief conductor Fredrik Malmberg while baritone Fredrik Zetterström and pianist Thomas Schuback unite for Sounds' Songs. Voices in the Darkness documents significant work by Börtz and Sonnevi, two of the most important figures in Sweden's contemporary creative life.

Simbi is a nine-piece orchestra, the only of its kind singing in Creole and playing Vodou Beat. Footprint Records are very proud to be able to release So Yèyè, Simbi’s fourth album. Simbi create soulful dance music: modern, unique and inspired by the Haitian roots music (mizik rasinn) the band learned on location in Port-au-Prince and in the Haitian countryside. Simbi’s music is a declaration of love for this culture and its influences come from West African pop, afro funk, jazz and Caribbean dance music. In 2012, the band invited the singer and composer Zanba Zao from Port-au-Prince to Sweden for a musical collaboration. The result was numerous well-received concerts throughout the country. Zao is prominent figure and a pioneer within Haitian roots music and the collaboration with Simbi is characterized by a loving musical meeting founded on mutual respect. The repertoire consists of Zao’s songs, songs by Simbi and traditional Haitian songs as captured on this CD. In Haiti, Simbi is known as ‘the blue-eyed Haitians’. The band is long established. It has toured extensively and played small and large venues as well as at schools, clubs and festivals in Sweden, Haiti, Benin, the USA, France and Canada. Simbi has previously released three well-received albums: ‘Vodou Beat’ (93), ‘Kreol’ (96) and ‘Kalalou’ (03). So Yèyè is a must-have for all lovers of roots music.