Wirén, Dag
gitarr
I lager
Dag Wirén (1905–1986) is one of the most important Swedish composers of his generation. He is associated mainly with a charming serenade for string orchestra from 1937, but he also composed five symphonies, five string quartets, stage music and a great deal more. A detailed works list and discography are available on www.dagwiren.se.
The Little Serenade for guitar from 1964, which is Wirén’s only solo work for the instrument, was inspired by his daughter Annika, who at the time had started studying guitar with the legendary Svea Hammarberg in Stockholm. Hammarberg was also the one who provided the composer with fundamental knowledge about the guitar’s capabilities and limits. That same year Gehrmans Musikförlag published a printed edition of the piece. The person trusted with editing the score was another Swedish guitar pioneer, Roland Bengtsson, who also recorded the serenade in 1965.
The edition from 1964 is well done and one may wonder what now leads us, almost sixty years later, to publish another. Our primary motive is a desire to make the piece more accessible for the guitarists of today, and a hunch that an edition in English would have better chances reaching an international audience. A few suspected printing errors have also been corrected and/or commented on.
Jan-Olof Eriksson supplied me with a copy of the composer’s manuscript and has thereafter been a sounding board for me during my work on the new edition, as has Göran Söllscher. Without these colleagues and their familiarity with Dag Wirén’s guitar serenade the result would have been less than satisfactory. It has further been invaluable to be able to consult with Annika Wirén about almost anything regarding her father and his music.
Mats Bergström, 2023
