På ett barns graf

På ett barns graf is a dark and sad composition based in a poem of the swedish writer Johan Ludvig Runeberg for two parts treble choir and string quartet.

På ett barns graf

I liked this more as it went on. It has a rather minimalist feel to it with the ground bass, and although I don't usually like repeated chord sequences, actually in no way did it become boring here. Can I make a suggestion though - instead of the usual vln/vln/vla/vcl string quartet I think this would sound good with two violas and two cellos or a similar ensemble - cello quartet, or three violas and one cello? It would suit the character of the piece very well and I think would offer better balence of ensemble than having the powerful low register of the violins being dominant all the time. Obviously you would need to copy out seperate string parts rather than the piano reduction you have here. I can't really comment on the text-setting as there's no translation and I have no knowledge of Swedish anyway. You also ought to be clear on the score what voices this is for - I can't really tell if it is for women's voice or for boys, but if it is for women then bars 17-25 might be a problem for some with that low C and especially the low Ab in bar 41. If it is for boys then watch out that the strings aren't too loud (maybe have them muted?). I suggest putting the metronome marking in dotted crotchets rather than quavers as the piece has a two-in-a-bar feel to it and it is conventional for 6/8 time. A good length piece for the poem though, and well-paced. As always, try and have it performed.

SWEDISH!!??? Runeberg was Finnish! The national poet of Finland. Just because he wrote in the Swedish language doesn't make him Swedish! Learn your history, buddy!

SWEDISH!!??? Runeberg was Finnish! The national poet of Finland. Just because he wrote in the Swedish language doesn't make him Swedish! Learn your history, buddy!

Well, arguably he could be either. Finland wasn't recognised as an independent state until 1917 and was under Swedish rule from medieval times until 1809, meaning that one could not really claim to be a Finn in any legal definition during that time (rather like one cannot hold a Welsh or Scottish passport). Even today Swedish is an official language in Finland. More importantly, Runeberg was a member of the Swedish-speaking aristocracy (the same applies to the other great Finnish artist, Johan Sibelius) and wrote his literature in that language so we can reasonably classify him as a Swedish-language poet. The counter-arguement to this is that most of his work is patriotic in nature and deals with life in Finland as a Finn. Of course, one could also argue him to be a Russian as well...

Maybe I had to specify: swedish-language writer. I'm finnish, how I couldn't know what you are talking about?