Mårten Jansson

Maria (IV)

The Swedish royal family commissioned this work for the feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. The text was written by the Swedish poet Einar Askestad (premiere on March 17, 2013). The music describes Mary's sorrow as the mother of a child who does not belong to her, but to all of humanity.

I make my own music and have never tried to be original. Following this motto, I have tried to express through my music all the feelings that make up life. Some describe my music as 'as sad as birds that have lost their wings'. Others call it 'the happiest classical music we have ever heard'.
I have always been closer to melodious music than to atonal music, and that is certainly the reason why my music has a rather melancholy character. My works are almost exclusively spiritual. This is both an expression of my own faith and my appreciation of the timeless texts that have been set to music for centuries.

Mårten Jansson (*1965), a member of Föreningen svenska tonsättare (Society of Swedish Composers), graduated from the Royal College of Music (KHM) in Stockholm with an MFA degree in music education, Dalcroze rhythm and voice. He was the director of Carmen, one of Sweden's best-known female vocal ensembles, for over ten years. He currently teaches choir, music theory, conducting and singing at Boland High School and Music School in his hometown Uppsala.

Under Multimedia you will find a recording of Maria with the Ensemble Riga Recording Studio Singers (Latvia)