Since the beginning of time the sea has played a key role in all life on Earth. Throughout history composers, authors and poets have been inspired by its thundering power, its grandeur, its calm and its murky depths. There is a huge treasure chest, several hundred years old, to draw from. The songs selected here range from traditional Celtic sea shanties to German national-romanticism and darker tones from our own time. Some are unknown and have not been recorded before, such as the choir’s previous leader Josef Hedar’s setting of Karl Asplund’s Klockbojen (Bell Buoy). Others are better known, such as Hugo Alfvén’s Gryning vid havet (Dawn by the sea) to Sten Selander’s text – a classic in the male-voice repertoire, and Anders Hillborg’s monumental Mouyayoum.

Composed in the mid-80s, Mouyayoum is Hillborg’s most performed work. A study in ever-shifting tone colours draws an inspiration from overtone singing, creating an intricate and luminous tapestry of deep sound. For sixteen-part mixed choir.

Lunds Studentsångare is a male-voice choir from Lund, Sweden. Through its long history – Lunds Studentsångare was founded in 1831 – the choir has been continuously evolving thanks to its professional and devoted conductors. Today, the choir consists of around 50 tenors and basses with different backgrounds, educations and occupations.

In Sweden, the choir is probably most recognised for its traditional spring concert on 1 May, celebrating the return of spring throughout the country on Swedish television. Apart from regular concerts in Lund and the rest of Sweden, the choir frequently participates in international collaborations with renowned symphony orchestras and other choirs alike. The choir always strives to create music of the highest order, while simultaneously preserving and renewing the Scandinavian male-voice choir repertoire.