Skallsjo Sommarorkester was founded based on a shared love for music and on a firm belief in the universal powers of music. We believe that music has a unique way of building bridges and bringing people closer together and one of our favorite ways of showcasing this has been to challenge traditional genre borders. We believe that when sound gets brought out of it's expected packaging, it's power to fuse people and cultures together grows stronger. So, we suppose we would call this classical fusion, but who cares about genres anyway. In the end we just did what we always do: we picked the tunes we love most and hope that you'll love them too

The three short movements in "Aspects of Snow" are united by the theme of snowy landscapes depicted in the poems and also share concentrated musical material. The piece was written in 2012 and premiered the same year by the Malmo Academy of Music Chamber Choir under the direction of Mats Paulsson. Else Lasker-Schuler (1869-1945) was one of the leading German writers in the decades after the turn of the century. She became famous for her expressionist poetry and her colorful performances. After the Nazis took power, she was persecuted and abused but managed to escape via Switzerland to Jerusalem, where she settled for the rest of her life. The short poem "Die Dammerung holt die Sichel" can here surround the prose sketch "Nachtregen" ("The Night Rain"). The work is written for choir a cappella and solo viola, which functions as a wordless voice in the vocal folds. The work was composed in 2018 and is dedicated to Erik Westberg and his vocal ensemble. The suite "Seelenherbst" ("Autumn of the Soul") for mixed choir and percussion was composed in 2021-22 and is based on a selection of poems by Luise Buchner (1821-1877). During her time, Buchner was a noted author of novels, short stories, and poetry. However, she probably became best known for her debate book "Die Frauen und ihr Beruf", which was printed in several editions during her lifetime. She also worked to ensure that the works of her late older brother Georg Buchner, including "Wozzeck", would be published. Luise Buchner's poetry has a personal romantic- symbolist touch where nature, special places, and environments reflect and relate to people's inner experiences and changing moods. Sometimes the picture expands with questions about the individual's place in the universe. The chosen poems form a suite of five movements, where the two outer move ments that frame the work depict a jour ney from winter to autumn, while the three middle movements are evening and night moods of different characters. This work is also written for and dedicated to Erik West berg and his vocal ensemble. "L�ngt i forsvunna tider" ("Far in By gone Times") takes it's starting point from three songs by Wilhelm Sten hammar, "Stjarnoga", "Flickan knyter i Johannesnatten" and "Vore jag ett litet barn". I selected these songs because they were more open to new musical angles due to their close connec tion to the Swedish folk song. Stenhammar 4 is here himself both freer in his use of har mony and in his part-writing, something I have underlined and partly reinforced. I have also placed the songs in surround ing wordless material as contrast and musi cal reflection, and here and there gaps also open up inside the songs when new material is used as contrast. Swedish Radio commis sioned the work for the 150th anniversary of Wilhelm Stenhammar in 2021 and the Swedish Radio Choir premiered it under the direction of Erik Westberg. / Staffan Storm

Benjamin Staern - composer Karin Dornbusch - clarinet Emil Eliasson - conductor Gavle Symphony Orchestra WORRIED SOULS Benjamin Staern: The Threat of War Benjamin Staern: Worried Souls - Clarinet Concerto Benjamin Staern: Polar Vortex Symphony no. 1 Swedish Society and The Gavle Symphony Orchestra present the first full orchestral CD of composer Benjamin Staern's music. This release features 2 works for large orchestra and his Clarinet concerto all of which are inspired by social issues and environmental forces as well as the challenges of human relations and conflict painting a very actual picture of the world we live in. Staern's music reflects global issues, drawing from Kosovo and Congo's conflict images, fueling the urgent intensity of The Threat of War. His clarinet concerto, Worried Souls, channels the fraught emotions of an industrial, dystopian society, inspired by classic works like Modern Times and 1984. Finally, Staern's Polar Vortex symphony sonically explores global weather extremes through vibrant inner imagery, from frozen cities to intense polar vortices. Artists: Renowned Swedish clarinetist Karin Dornbusch winner of the Swedish Soloist Prize, a celebrated figure in Swedish music and a highly sought artist internationally, joins the Gavle Symphony Orchestra for the performance of the multi instrumental and virtuosic clarinet concerto. The Gavle Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Emil Eliasson, a popular guest conductor across major Nordic orchestras and esteemed opera houses and current Music director of the Swedish Wind Ensemble.

The concepts of Romanticism and Late Romanticism steer our thoughts towards musical epochs, but the selection on this CD is based on a word art that encompasses romantic notions and experiences such as sorrow, joy, love, anxiety, despair, expectation, and longing that have existed in all times. This CD features, for the first time, recorded works by the young composer Alvin Vikman's five-movement piece The Japanese Seasons, Agneta Skold's Dar blaklinten slog en bro, and a bouquet of songs by composers active from the mid-1800s, Laura Netzell and Valborg Aulin. For over two hundred years, the interest in choral singing has inspired choral compositions of many different kinds. It has laid the foundation for the utilization of words and tones for the human voice, which has fostered cohesion, community, and musical innovation. Therefore, the compositions of Ludvig Norman, Jorgen Jersild, and Alvin Vikman show a continuity in humanity's need for words and tones to collaborate, regardless of the epoch, giving us n

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Tobias Brostrom has strongly profiled himself as an orchestral composer of both solo concertos and large orchestral works in his rapidly growing list of compositions. In particular, his longstanding affiliation with the Govle Symphony Orchestra - documented here - has greatly influenced his development in this area. Strongly characteristic in Brostrom's music is a steady rhythmic vibrancy and tonal ingenuity. As a trained percussionist, Brostrom has also developed the ability to utilize the orchestra's percussive resources in a new and unexpected manner. All of the compositions on the album are infused with these features, but of course each work has it's own unique personality. (Staffan Storm)

Classical Music