The Fredösphere

I am a composer, albeit a composer unburdened with those pesky problems of commissions and frequent performances,[...]

[...] and I recognize that writing for highly skilled performers allows one to stretch one's skills and expression in directions not possible with less skilled performers. However, there are a hell of a lot of ensembles out there that are strangers to much in the way of new music.

Getting those groups to play new music is no easy matter. This is especially true with choirs. There seems to be long established enmity between many a New Music milieu and choirs. Many composer friends have told me that they hate vocal music and in particular hate choral music.  There is a ton of great choral music from the last 30-40 years, in particular there's an impressive body of works from the Nordic countries inspired by Eric Ericson's virtuoso ensembles and those of his students.

If sequenza21 readers don't know works like Ingvar Lidholm's "Arriveder le stelle" or Per Norgaard's "Wie en kind" [sic; he means 'Wie ein kind'] or his "Frost Psalm" then they are missing out.

I sing with various ensembles and it is true that many singers long ago closed their mind to anything written after Elijah. It's also true that a composer has to compose a piece for amateur choirs that is simple enough that amateur singers can get their pitches. Some genres of New Music may just not be able to crossover in that "unknown region."