{"product_id":"magnus-granberg-trouble-had-it-all-my-days","title":"Magnus Granberg","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTrouble, Had It All My Days \u003c\/strong\u003e   (2025)       61:23\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eSkogen\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eHeather Roche, clarinet\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e     \u003c\/span\u003eAngharad Davies, violin\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e     \u003c\/span\u003eAnna Lindal, violin\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eEva Lindal, violin\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003eLeo Svensson Sander, cello\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003eSimon Allen, vibraphone\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eFinn Loxbo, acoustic steel string guitar\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003eStina Hellberg Agback, harp\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eMagnus Granberg prepared piano\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003eErik Carlsson percussion\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eHenrik Olsson objects, contact microphones, thumb piano\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003ePetter Wästberg contact microphone, mixing board, loudspeaker\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eToshimaru Nakamura no-input mixing board\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"SV\" style=\"mso-ansi-language: SV;\"\u003eRecorded by Niclas Lindström and Calle Gustavsson at Atlantis, Stockholm, November 27 2025. \u003cbr\u003eMixed and mastered by Anders Dahl. \u003cbr\u003eCover artwork, ’Gendalen’, by Magnus Gramén, with thanks.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003e Interview with Magnus Granberg\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Granberg_Magnus_02404f4c-99c3-4fd5-8e95-77b0d32a208f_480x480.jpg?v=1751620895\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eI was lucky enough to be at the London performance of ‘Trouble, Had It All My Days’ late last year. It was one of my favourite concerts ever. Can you tell us about the piece, and why it was a special event for you and Skogen?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"SV\" style=\"mso-ansi-language: SV;\"\u003eI'm happy that you enjoyed the concert; it was really a pleasure performing at Music We’d Like to Hear in London last autumn. For us it was quite a special event in that it marked our twentieth anniversary as an ensemble. As well as the concert in London we also performed at \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"SV\" style=\"mso-ansi-language: SV;\"\u003eKonserthuset in Stockholm in a concert produced by John Chantler and Edition Festival, in-between the two performances we also had the chance to record the piece at Atlantis in Stockholm.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cspan lang=\"SV\" style=\"mso-ansi-language: SV;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Brdtext\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eI guess that, as so often, you started from some existing musical fragments, which you transformed in the process of composition. Can you tell us what the original pieces were, and why you chose them?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"SV\" style=\"mso-ansi-language: SV;\"\u003eThe piece takes an aria by Bach (”Seufzer, Tränen, ängstlich sehnen” from the cantata BWV 21, ”Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis”) as its point of departure, and the reason for choosing this particular piece was quite simply that I had already written some raw materials based on this aria for director Karl Dunér’s staging of two Greek tragedies (”The Persians” by Aeschylus and ”The Trojan Women” by Euripides) at the Royal Dramatic Theatre here in Stockholm, which we for various reasons chose to abandon at the time. So, after the premiere of the production I just thought I’d revisit these materials and try to do something with them, which in the end resulted in this piece for Skogen as well as a string quartet and a solo piece for American trumpet player Nate Wooley. As for the title, ”Trouble, Had It All My Days”, it is actually derived from the lyrics of a song by American blues singer and guitarist Mississippi John Hurt, which also happens to allude to the title of the previously mentioned Bach cantata, ”Ich hatte viel Bekümmerniss”, which translates as something like ”I had many troubles”.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Brdtext\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eOne of the reasons that I found the concert so magical was simply the size of the ensemble. While the music remained typically restrained (for the most part, at least), it was just such a pleasure to see so many musicians co-operating in the production of this bizarre and unique soundworld.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"SV\" style=\"mso-ansi-language: SV;\"\u003eYes, I had this simple and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003erather \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"SV\" style=\"mso-ansi-language: SV;\"\u003eobvious idea of celebrating our anniversary by inviting as many of our members and previous collaborators (as well as one new member, Heather Roche) as our budget would possibly allow us, so we ended up being thirteen musicians in Stockholm and even fourteen in London, where we had the great pleasure of rejoining our dear friend Rhodri Davies. And I’m really happy to hear that you enjoyed hearing the sound of this large community of people making music together, I found it very rewarding myself just getting to be a part of this environment, experiencing how the music was taking shape during the performances.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eI've said many times that I think that the method you have of combining composed elements with improvisation is the most consistently fruitful way of mixing the two which I've come across. You've been writing pieces for Skogen for over 20 years, have acquired a good reputation and now also compose for other ensembles. But I wonder how you feel that you stand in relation to the contemporary classical world?  As improvisation is still a big part of most of what you do, I suspect that you will always remain marginal to much of the contemporary classical establishment (which perhaps is the best place to be...)  How do you see it?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"SV\" style=\"mso-ansi-language: SV;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Brdtext\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"SV\" style=\"mso-ansi-language: SV;\"\u003eYes, even though I in many ways would be overjoyed to be in a less marginal position vis-à-vis the world of contemporary classical music (and I certainly don't want to position myself that way!), I guess that the elements of improvisation which are central to much (or even most) of my work so far might perhaps still be something of a stumbling block to some institutions of the contemporary classical music world. Mostly my music falls quite squarely in between strict categories of composed or improvised musics, and it was initially also my vision to try to explore some of the many musical dynamics of the various positions on the spectrum between the perceived binaries of composition on the one hand and improvisation on the other. In that regard I guess my music is somewhat closer to, say, Indian music (or perhaps even jazz) in that it is as much a matter of formulating detailed and clearly identifiable frameworks as it is a matter of designing compositional objects. And even though I now certainly also do have an interest of exploring other positions on this spectrum which involve less (or even no) improvisation, I still feel that there is so much work to do and so many gradations to explore on this particular spectrum. These dynamics (which originally aroused much of my passion for music) are still such a source of joy, wonder and excitement that I find it hard to believe that I ever will grow tired of these particular forms of music-making.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Brdtext\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67681848820026,"sku":"at260","price":10.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at260_front_cover.jpg?v=1791816883","url":"https:\/\/www.anothertimbre.com\/products\/magnus-granberg-trouble-had-it-all-my-days","provider":"Another Timbre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}