FROM GUEST CURATOR CECILIA RYDINGER

For Orphei Drängar, formed back in 1853 and standing stable on our traditional pillars, performing music written by women is a keen task. Our concert on International Women’s Day March 8, 2019, was dedicated to female composers from the past to the present. The fate of Lili Boulanger is more than touching: one of the greatest composer’s talents in the beginning of the 2000 century, passing away 1918 from the Chron decease at the early age of 24, and after her death not being performed until decades later. In this piece “Pendant la tempête - During the storm” we get to know a composer with magnificent harmonic, melodic, and expressive skills. Already from the violent start in the piano, we hear the storm approaching and the fear arising. “The boat is small and the sea is infinite, the wrathful wave is hurling us towards the sky.” A prayer arises, begging for the storm to calm down and the sea to be silent. “You flower of the paradise, the holy Mother of God, always protecting seamen in need, please bring our ship to a safe harbor”. Until the end, we’re kept in uncertainty whether the prayer is answered or not.

– Cecilia Rydinger

Orphei Drängar
Conductor: Cecilia Rydinger
Piano: Folke Alin
Concert in Uppsala, Sweden, at the International Women’s Day, March 8, 2019