Category: Blog posts

The so-called parody mass is quite an interesting concept. It developed and blossomed in European sacred music in the 16th century by way of prominent composers like Josquin des Prez and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Parody technique was one of several different compositional techniques used for mass compositions during the Renaissance. A similar but different… Continue reading Jauchzet, frohlocket!

Ever since grade school, Lucia has been one of my favourite feasts of the year. To an outsider, a chorus of children (and/or adults) in long, white gowns holding white candles and singing together might seem more than slightly peculiar. Particularly so starting at around 6 am in the morning. Strange or not, for me… Continue reading Paint a Door on the Wall

I opened the last blog post stating that I’d had an eventful weekend. The rest of November, it turned out, continued in much the same way. The past three weeks have been unrelenting, leaving little space or time for writing blog posts. Most of what’s happened has been exciting and pleasant, but there have also… Continue reading Setback, Get Back

Last weekend was quite eventful. On Saturday, as part of the All Saints’ Day celebration, I sang with the Cathedral Choir in Mass and the same afternoon attended a memorial service in the cathedral. On Sunday, my pianist Matti Busch and I performed our death-and-life themed recital programme in Sundsvall. Last year around this time,… Continue reading As Life Is

Last Tuesday I held my first ever lecture about working in the music business. I have been hired to give a series of five lectures in total in this school year, aimed at young twenty-somethings with a very general understanding – if any – of what working as a freelance musician entails. Merriam-Webster’s definition of… Continue reading Business Acumen

I feel that giving lectures on both Western music history as well as game music history offers an interesting perspective on both. The extremely short period in which we have been playing video games, compared to our several millennia of recorded musical traditions, appears to me as a kind of microcosm of humanity’s musical development.… Continue reading History In the Making

I feel like this week hit me like a sledgehammer! Monday feels like it was only yesterday, even though it was actually three days ago. Madness. And I feel like I have spent most of the week so far writing and replying to an endless number of emails. I started the week off by getting… Continue reading It’s Hammer Time

It is thrilling to hear your music interpreted in a manner that brings the music to life in a new way. That shines a light on different lines, different ideas. As an experience, it also reaffirms my belief that a music score is not equal to the music itself; it is simply a facsimile, a… Continue reading Put the Music Where the Money Is

What a week it has been. In spite of economic insecurities and a stressful, irregular work situation, I keep pressing on, stubborn and tenacious, towards realising my plans and fulfilling my dreams. Experiences like these make it all worthwhile. My working relationship with the Norwegian vocal ensemble Kurve dates back to February 2015 when their… Continue reading A World Without Violence

Last week was so busy that I didn’t manage to take the time and sit down to write a blog post. It was my first week back after much needed two weeks off. Apart from getting back into a fresh period of reading (particular highlights being Yuval Noah Harari’s “Sapiens” and Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s “Montecore”)… Continue reading Where Music Comes From