Biography

On December 10, 1919, one of the greatest multitaskers Swedish musical life has ever seen was born. Sven-Eric Johanson was a musical prankster, organist, modernist, producer and beloved composer, above all for choirs. He grew up in a musical and free-church family and graduated both as a music teacher and cantor at the Academy of Music in Stockholm.

Sven-Eric Johanson was often seen in musical happenings in, above all, Gothenburg's cultural life. "He lived very much in the moment and did not shy away from making choral variations on Helan går, writing concertos for balalaika or key harp, or cantatas for jubilee kitchen training with pot lids and pans among the instruments. He displayed many burlesque sides, liked to parody and experiment - this as a break from his serious work," it reads in Swedish MIC's text about him.

His "serious deed" nicely balanced the burlesque features. In 1944, during his time at the Academy of Music, together with Sven-Erik Bäck and Eric Ericson, among others, he formed the so-called Monday Group, where they discussed morphology and syntax, and explored the development of contemporary European art music. He was already fascinated by twelve-tone music as a teenager and in the 1950s studied composition with both Fartein Valen and Luigi Dallapiccola. Despite his interest, he never composed strictly using the twelve-tone system, but found his own tone early on. In 1952 he settled in Gothenburg, where he worked as an organist in Älvsborg's church until 1977, at the same time as he became strongly involved in the city's musical life.

Sven-Eric Johanson was an extremely productive composer, with roughly 500 registered works. With his strong feeling for the voice as a means of expression
he became one of Sweden's most loved and performed vocal composers. He wrote songs, operas and children's music, but perhaps above all over 250 choral works: from little drinking songs and simple church music to his Symphony No. 2 (Rilkes Duino Elegy No. 7) for choir a cappella. His 1953 setting of Karlfeldt's poem Snabbt jagar stormen våra år belongs to the most sung choral pieces in the Swedish repertoire, as well Fancies(1974), Shakespeare texts for four-part chorus to piano accompaniment. In the simpler choral settings, the pedagogue Johanson comes to the fore as the singers get to try both improvisation, twelve-tone and speech choir.

Even as an instrumental composer, Sven-Eric Johanson achieved great success, perhaps above all with his Tenth Symphony, Symphonie Chez nous, written in 1990. The symphony contains a passage that was published separately with the titleThe melody of my heart. PG Bergfor's portrait book about Johanson from 1994 also had the same title. Sven-Eric Johanson died in 1997.

Photo: Ingmar Jernberg

Related Products
Uti vår hage
Uti vår hage
Folk song from Gotland. Kanon arrangement by Sven-Eric Johanson.
Johanson, Sven-Eric
canon/SAB/SSA
26 kr
Fancies I
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB + piano
76 kr
Var stilla min själ
For choir SATB
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB
26 kr
Fancies II
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB + piano
76 kr
Beställningsvara med längre leveranstid
Snabbt jagar stormen våra år
From Psalter and lyre, setting for mixed choir.
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB
24 kr
Spelmanssymfoni
For string orchestra.
Johanson, Sven-Eric
Hornpipa
Music in a folk tone for brass band.
Johanson, Sven-Eric
0 kr
Beställningsvara med längre leveranstid
Se din konung kommer till dig
For SSA a cappella.
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SSA
18 kr
I advent
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB
26 kr
Två hymner
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB, (solo)
26 kr
Mitt liv har du tänt/Högt ovan himmelens stjärnor
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB
32 kr
Mitt liv rinner bort
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB
21 kr
Som sådden förnimmer Guds välbehag
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB
26 kr
Beställningsvara med längre leveranstid
Pelle plutt
15 rhymes for 2-3 parts / children's choir a cappella.
Johanson, Sven-Eric
children's choir
42 kr
Åtta visor
Song games for mixed choir a cappella. Texts from Inez Mallander's Song games and song dances. Can be performed individually or as a suite.
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB
114 kr
Vi väver en matta
Johanson, Sven-Eric
cannon
43 kr
Ebbe Skammelson
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB
26 kr
Tycker du om mej?
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SAB
21 kr
Det är vackrast när det skymmer
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB
21 kr
Nattmotiv
Johanson, Sven-Eric
SATB
21 kr