World premiere of Mikael Carlsson's "Requiem" in Hagakyrkan, Göteborg, on November 5, 2016. The piece was commissioned by the Swedish Church and composed largely as an emotional response to the current refugee crisis in Europe.

Performed by Haga Motettkör and Orchestra, conducted by Ulrike Heider. Violins: Lars Kvensler, Helena Frankmar, Rolf Mårtensson, Viveca Rydén Mårtensson, Mattias Johansson, Annie Svedlund. Violas: Johanna Fridolfsson, Lars Mårtensson. Celli: Johan Stern, Petra Lundin. Contrabass: Marc Grue. Piano: Svetlana Beliakovskaia.

Recording engineer: Erik Sikkema

http://www.mikaelcarlsson.com
http://www.hagamotettkor.se
http://www.eriksikkema.com

Requiem (2016)

A simple four part setting of the well known vesper hymn. Recording of first performance in service at Hagakyrkan, Göteborg, on March 25, 2021. Johanna Ek-Wahlqvist (soprano), Lina Bjarnegård Carlsson (alto), Mikael Carlsson (tenor), Erik Gustafsson (bass), Ulrike Heider (director).

Ave Maris Stella (2021)

World premiere of Mikael Carlsson's "Stabat Mater" on April 3 and April 15, 2022. The piece was commissioned by the Swedish Church and written for mixed choir and solo cello.

Performed by Haga Motettkör, conducted by Ulrike Heider. Cello: Christian Berg.

Recording engineer: Sten Dereman.

Christe, cum sit hinc exíre

Virgo vírginum præclára

Eja, Mater, fons amóris

Interlude: Mother, Fount of Love!

Pro peccatis suæ gentis

Interlude: That Mother's Pain

Quis est homo qui non fleret

Stabat Mater dolorósa

Premiered in concert in Hagakyrkan, Göteborg, on December 16, 2023. Performed by Haga Motettkör conducted by Ulrike Heider.

Puer natus in Bethlehem

Puer natus in Bethlehem (2023)

Commissioned by the Church of Sweden to be premiered as a part of the HBTQ Festival, Gothenburg (Sweden's first cultural festival created by and for LGBT - lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender - people). 

The Spirit Within (Violet)

Harmony of Dissonance (Blue)

Natural Lovers (Green)

I Am Your Sunlight (Yellow)

Heal You (Orange)

Lux Perpetua (Red)

Johannebergs Vokalensemble conducted by Jan K. Delemark and Haga Motettkör conducted by Ulrike Heider. Various secular choral works.

Det är vackrast när det skymmer (Pär Lagerkvist) (2007)

Ej blir det natt (Werner Aspenström) (2009)

Haga Motettkör conducted by Ulrike Heider. Various sacred choral works composed for concert and service.

O Magnum Mysterium (2008)

Pater Noster (2009)

Den blomstertid nu kommer (2011)

Ave Maria (2014)

A setting for mixed choir of Swedish poet Kristina Lugn's poem "Över ensamma och älskade", written as an epitath to her friend and famous actor Erland Josephson (1923-2012). 

Recorded in concert "Pacem: Choirs for Peace" in Domkyrkan, Göteborg, on February 24, 2024.

VOCAL ENSEMBLE LUX
Ulrike Heider, conductor

Över ensamma och älskade (2020)

Haga Motettkör conducted by Ulrike Heider. 

Sheet music available from Carlssons Kluster:
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/rhyme-of-polaris-digital-sheet-music/20714656

Lyrics from H.P. Lovecraft's short story "Polaris" (1918):

Slumber, watcher, till the spheres,
Six and twenty thousand years
Have revolv'd, and I return
To the spot where now I burn.
Other stars anon shall rise
To the axis of the skies;
Stars that soothe and stars that bless
With a sweet forgetfulness:
Only when my round is o'er
Shall the past disturb thy door.

Recording by Erik Sikkema (http://www.freewebs.com/eriksikkema/).

Rhyme of Polaris

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Rhyme of Polaris (H.P. Lovecraft) (2015)

The world premiere performance of "Alleluia" performed by Haga Motettkör and Caritas Chamber Choir, conducted by Benedict Preece, in concert at St. Peter's Anglican Church, Canterbury, UK on May 6, 2016.

Alleluia (2016)

Lux aeterna (Reunion)

Agnus dei (Sacrifice)

Sanctus (Hope)

Offertorium (From Us Who Survived)

Dies irae (Torn Apart)

Kyrie (Prayer)

Requiem aeternam (A Cry for Freedom)

Introit (War and Terror)

O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord,
lying in a manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear
our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

- - -

The first performance of "Julevangeliet" ("The Christmas Gospel"), a setting of Christmas readings and motets conceptually inspired by the 'Nine Lessons and Carols', scored for string quartet and four voices.

Hedvig Eriksson (soprano), Amanda Flodin (alto), Mikael Englund (tenor), Karl Peter Eriksson (baritone).

The Wulfson Quartet: Max Wulfson and Lotte Lybeck (violins), Tuula Fleivik Nurmo (viola), Lars-Erik Persson (cello).

Mikael Carlsson (recitation), Ulrike Heider (conductor).

Hagakyrkan, Göteborg, December 22, 2017.

Inledning (Introduction): O magnum mysterium

World premiere performance by Gothia Concentus conducted by Emanuel Kling, May 2018.

Sheet music available from Carlssons Kluster:
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/innerspace-digital-sheet-music/21144091

This piece was commissioned by Gothia Concentus, Sweden's largest amateur orchestra, as an original concert work addition to their 2017-2018 project focusing on music from science fiction films and video games.

This is my tribute to the genre that brought me so many wonderful musical highlights.

Innerspace

Innerspace (2018)

World premiere performance of "Nostalgia" for string orchestra, performed by David Bergström and Lars Kvensler (violins), Emil Jonasson (viola), Lars-Erik Persson and Christoffer Bergström (celli) and Thomas Allin (contrabass), conducted by Ulrike Heider. 

Hagakyrkan, Göteborg, November 3, 2018.

An outburst of tears,
a reminiscence of beauty,
perhaps... too pathetic a memorY?
No, it is not.
Call it what you want.
It is profound.
From darkness again,
light. Always in eternity.

This piece is dedicated to John Williams (Vienna, November 3, 2018).

Illustration: Anders Nyberg (http://www.andersnyberg.se/)

Nostalgia

Johannebergs Vokalensemble conducted by Jan K. Delemark in concert on May 26, 2019

I lövfällningtid: 1. Visa

Premiere performance of the choral version of my setting of "Julevangeliet" ("The Christmas Gospel" in English), for SATB, string quartet and reciter.

Charlotta Grahn-Wetter, violin
Helena Frankmar, violin
Tuula Fleivik Nurmo, viola
Johan Stern, cello

Elisabeth Magnusson Rosengren, recitation

Haga Motettkör
Ulrike Heider, conductor

Hagakyrkan, Gothenburg, Sweden
December 8, 2019

Ave Maria

Composer specializing in choral and orchestral music for concert use and service. Works published by Svensk Musik,  Bo Ejeby Förlag and Santa Barbara Music Publishing. Arranger of film music for concert use (clients include Marco Beltrami, Terence Blanchard and Carter Burwell) and a soundtrack album producer with +600 albums released on the acclaimed record label MovieScore Media. Mikael is also a producer for three choirs in Göteborg, Sweden, and a singer(tenor/alto).

Mikael Carlsson

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