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Karin Rehnqvist (*1957) is one of Sweden’s best known and most performed composers. She has blazed a unique cross-genre trail, exploring the borderland between art and folk music and developing a highly distinctive composition and performance style. One of her signature motifs is the extraordinary vocal technique of Kulning, the ancient call of Scandinavian shepherd girls to drive their flocks. A restless innovator, her repertoire is characterized by uncompromising inventiveness, raw emotional power and the icy shock of the new.
About the composition
In this poem, Swedish poet Gunnar Björling (1887-1960) outlines a peaceful atmosphere in which the night makes us forget all our worries. Beneath the surface shimmers a reference to death: the first-person remembers “a life without sorrow”.
The choral work of the same name created by Swedish composer Karin Rehnqvist explores the mystical and serene atmosphere of the night. The title, “When Night Brings Peace,” and composition reflect the calm, introspective atmosphere of an evening under the stars. Rehnqvist is known for her innovative use of traditional Swedish folk music, and in this piece she subtly interweaves those influences with modern choral sounds. The work is characterized by simple but enchanting melodies, often combined with a hushed, almost breathless tension. The harmonies are rich and contemplative, giving the piece a meditative character, something more often heard in Rehnqvist’s work. När natten skänker frid is a wonderful example of her ability to musically translate emotions of calm and stillness, establishing night as a time of reflection and inner peace.
Rehnqvist composed När natten skänker frid for her aunt’s funeral, where it was sung together by the attendees after the ceremony. “The text is full of trust, I think. That makes it really beautiful,” says Rehnqvist herself. Part of the strength of this work lies in its simplicity: because of its straightforwardness, it is also possible to be sung for amateurs and amateur choirs. Rehnqvist explains that she has worked frequently and happily with amateur choirs, including as a conductor, and that several of her compositions are uncomplicated and understated as a result. Rehnqvist uses clear, transparent melodies and harmonies in this work, without complex rhythms or excessive virtuosity, giving the work a hushed, almost timeless beauty. This simplicity invites the listener to listen deeper to the subtle nuances and delicate tension between the voices. The minimalist approach ensures that the music leaves room for breath, silence and reflection, allowing the night – and the peace it brings – to be experienced in a direct and pure way. As a result, this simplicity actually enhances the emotional impact and contemplative mood of the work.
Within the program of La femme lumineuse, in which various works explore the theme of light, darkness and transformation, När natten skänker frid by Karin Rehnqvist plays a role because of its simplicity and meditative quality. While other works, such as Kaija Saariaho’s Nuits, adieux and Judith Bingham’s The Darkness is no Darkness, often use more complex musical textures to create depth and layering in their explorations of darkness and light, Rehnqvist’s composition, on the contrary, sticks close to a simple, transparent style. This simplicity reflects the inner calm and peace that night can bring, in contrast to the more dramatic or symbolic approaches of other composers in the program.
The theme of night is presented in this work not as something threatening or overwhelming, but as a source of peace and inner calm, which provides a nice balance to the other pieces that seek themes of light or struggle with darkness.
