Music by Joel Engström to the poem "Förklaring" by swedish poet Karin Boye. Performed at Västerås Conerthall 2020.

Mezzosoprano - Emelie Thoor
Piano - Olga Tomilina

lyrics:
I din skönhet sänkt
ser jag livet förklarat
och den mörka gåtans svar uppenbarat

I din skönhet sänkt
bedja jag vill
världen är helig ty du är till

andlös av klarhet, ljusfördränkt
ville jag dö hos dig
i din skönhet sänkt.

-Karin Boye

I din skönhet sänkt

Soprano - Caroline Joy
Violin - Julia Stein

Series of Songs #1

This is the music to Alexander Ekman's piece Shift for the Royal Swedish Ballet. The music and the piece were made during the pandemic (Covid 19) and has a distinct air of that muted, calm (for those not infected, and not first responders of course), introspective time.
The score consists of three sections. They are titled after their instrumentation.
The strings were performed by Nick Revel (viola), Clarice Jensen (cello) and Hamilton Berry (cello) at Oktaven Audio in NYC.

Composed and recorded in 2020

Shift 2 (Pianos)

Ayas Öga

more sides now

Stockholm-based composer Benjamin Ferm works at the intersection of the material and the alchemical, creating dense soundscapes teeming with life and momentum. Active since 2006, Ferm has composed chamber, orchestral, and electronic music, as well as music for vocalists, performing arts productions, and film. After taking a four-year hiatus from music beginning in 2015, Ferm has taken a winding path back into the world of composing and most recently released an entrancing original soundtrack for JELNEK Dance Company’s Reflex. Influenced by American composer and electronic musician Dan Deacon, Ferm’s compositions are characteristically complex, energetic, and creative. Combining his spiritual investment in music with his commitment to collaboration and creativity, Benjamin Ferm’s creations are both tactile and ethereal, grounded and surreal.
After suffering from a bout of mental health struggles in 2015, Ferm took a break from music and ended up working as a bike messenger for five years. Driven and eccentric as he is, he went on to race fixed gear criteriums around Europe, created his own racing team, designed a racing suit, and designed a bike frame later built by the legendary polish frame-builder Rychtarski. When Ferm decided it was time to return to music in 2020, he set out to focus primarily on composing for vocalists and performing artists.
Throughout his career, Ferm has had the honor of working with many interdisciplinary artists and performers, composing for contemporary music ensembles, dance productions, and more. In 2010, Ferm orchestrated the music for the short film “Amalias friarbrev,” performed by the St Matteus Symphony Orchestra. He composed soundtracks for dance performances EpicName (2012) and Reflex (2021), both performed by Stockholm’s JELNEK Dance Company. Ferm has also worked with German contemporary music group Ensemble Recherche, Swedish chamber ensemble Norrbotten NEO, and British soprano Caroline Joy, among many others.

Series of Songs #1

Benjamin Ferm

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