Psalm från Älvdalen (1974)

Psalm aus Älvdalen (Dalekarlien)- Choral from Älvdalen (Dalecarlia)
Erland von Koch (1910-2009) was a Swedish composer. His father Sigurd von Koch (1879-1919) was a Romantic Swedish Composer. In the beginning of his career he started out writing film music amongst several were to Ingmar Bergman movies. He was appointed harmony teacher at KMH, Royal Swedish College of Music 1952. He got elected member of the The Royal Swedish Academy of Music 1957, appointed professor 1968. Von Koch is grouped with "trettiotalisterna" =Group of the thirties a certain number of Swedish composers with a distinct esthetical ideal (others were Lars-Erik Larsson, Dag Wirén, Gunnar de Frumerie). He often uses Swedish folk music as inspiration and musical material for his compositions. His orchestral works Oxbergsvariationerna (1956) and Lappland-metamorfoser (1957) are typical examples of this. His idiom is a sort of blend between Neo-Classical and Romanticism. He writes humbly about the composers task "The melody is the key element, the very life and soul of music, and I have always endeavoured to cultivate its many expressive qualities".
Psalm från Älvdalen includes two melodies the first is "Hornlåt från Älvdalen. Efter Isak Ander's gumma" the second is :"Psalm från Blidberg efter Gumm Anna". Von Koch had a two year soujourn in Sjurberg Dalecarlia were he studied more than 4000 old Dalecarlian folk melodies this had a profound influence on his later compositions this included. One of his last compositions were a lament over the Estonia catastrophe (1994-1996).