Djuro Živković – From Lyra Laudis for chorus a cappella

Veljo Tormis – Oh, mu hella eidekene (“Oh, My Gentle Tender Mother”) from Three Songs from the Epic Kalevipoeg for chorus a cappella

Ingvar Lidholm – The Madonna’s Lullaby for chorus a cappella

Einojuhani Rautavaara – Sydämeni laulu (“Song of My Heart”) for chorus a cappella

Evert Taube – Byssan lull, version for chorus a cappella (arr. Gunnar Eriksson)

Giles Swayne – Magnificat I for chorus a cappella

Judith Weir – Ave Regina caelorum for chorus a cappella

Roxanna Panufnik – Alma Redemptoris Mater for chorus a cappella

Tomás Luis de Victoria – Ave Maria for 8 voices

Francisco Guerrero – Ave virgo sanctissima for chorus a cappella

Benjamin Britten – A Hymn to the Virgin (anthem) for chorus a cappella

Mother and child form the theme as the choir is conducted by Justin Doyle.

Djuro Zivkovic is Composer-in-Residence at Konserthuset, and his masterful Lyra Laudis is dedicated to his mother. Drawing on the Estonian national epic Kalevipoeg, Veljo Tormis has composed deeply moving music with an undertone of farewell – a tribute to his mother after her passing.

In Ingvar Lidholm’s Vaggvisa (Lullaby), a solo line hovers above the choir’s soft texture in a prayer for rest. We also hear a choral arrangement of Evert Taube’s beloved song Byssan lull – boil the full kettle, Rautavaara’s popular Sydämeni laulu (Song of My Heart) evokes the safety of a mother’s embrace, while Giles Swayne, inspired by African musical traditions, creates a powerful and jubilant celebration of life.

The programme is framed by tributes to the sacred mother: Mary. From the splendour of the Renaissance in Tomás Luis de Victoria and Francisco Guerrero, to Britten’s dialogue with a medieval text, and the contemporary voices of Judith Weir and Roxanna Panufnik, Mary’s role as a universal mother is reflected.