The inspiration for Fernström's "Songs of the Sea" came from an English anthology of poems found during a visit to fellow composer Ture Rangström.
Composer Biography
Fernström was a keen educator and founded the Nordic Youth Orchestra, which was highly influential as a training ground for Swedish musicians.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Fernström's traditional, post-romantic music, though considered highly modern at the time it was written, fell into obscurity in the 1960s and has only recently been rediscovered.
Composer Biography
John Fernström, the composer, was born in China to missionary parents and did not begin studying music until he returned to Sweden at age sixteen.
Compositional Technique
In "Songs of the Sea," the vocal part is not dominant; the voice is treated as one instrument among many, though an important one.
Composition History
The rhapsody "Rao-Nai-Nai's Songs" is based on Chinese songs Fernström heard as a child from his family's Chinese ayah, Rao-Nai-Nai, who told bedtime stories.
Performer Biography
Miah Persson, the soprano on this recording, grew up singing in choirs and amateur theatre in Hudiksvall, Sweden, before studying music in Stockholm.
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