Eva Toller

Life

Born: 1959

About my country:

I am a Swede, living in Sweden. We are a very small country (as are also our Nordic neighbours) and our language is spoken by relatively few people. Thus, we tend to learn, speak, and write English quite well, since we cannot make ourselves understood otherwise. (However, we usually can understand - and be understood - by Danes and Norwegians, and many Finns also understand some Swedish).

To find out more about Sweden, the best way is probably to visit: http://www.sweden.se/

Choral-wise, Sweden has quite a strong tradition. It started with men's university choirs in the early 19th century. The most common choir type nowadays is the mixed choir; women's choirs are still more unusual than other choir types.

About me:

I frequently arrange any types of songs that I like and have specific ideas about. The ideas come in several ways. I may be inspired by the melody or the lyrics; I may think of a certain theme in the song, that I want to elaborate. I may want to make variations of the lyrics or arrange the song in a new way stylistically - for example, make jazz of a folk song.

Another motivation I have, especially for making arrangements for women's choir, is that it is often very hard to find a cappella arrangements for this type of choir.

Personally, I dislike the "primadonna trend" among composers and conductors. I think the attention should be primarily on the music - it will still be there after the composers are dead and (in many cases) forgotten. I am the servant of the music, not the other way around. Thus, I have a little difficulty with giving detailed biographical information about myself (I don't think my life would be very interesting for others to read about, and I don't want to become a "celebrity", although I'm of course happy when my music is sung and appreciated).

My musical background:

In the municipal music school, I studied piano, recorder, and violin (somewhat). I have kept playing the piano, and taught myself to play the guitar (mostly chord playing as accompaniment to song, but also some "finger play").

When I was around 25 years old, I started to take singing lessons, and did that for approximately seven years (with frequent breaks for a year or a half each). About the same time, I started to sing in a women's choir for students. I have sung in women's and mixed choirs since then (also here with some breaks), both in church choirs and secular choirs.

Concerning my knowledge in arranging choral music:

I am mostly an auto-didact (my formal education is short: half a semester of basic music theory at the university). I try to transform the practical knowledge I get as a choral singer to arrangements that are (hopefully!) fun to sing.

List of choral works

Original compositions

Alliterationsvisa Ave Maria De främmande länderna Du som aldrig gått ut ur ditt trädgårdsland En strimma hav En önskan Den enda stunden Ett sätt att göra herdekväden

Höst Höstens bleka sjö Höstens dagar Höstens sista blomma Irrande moln A Midsummer Night's Dream Missa Brevissimis Natthimmelen

Nocturne A red, red rose Reflexion Skogssjön Sonett The Song of Songs Stjärnenatten Uppsala Summer Heat Blues

Arrangements

Er, der Herrlichste von allen, Op. 42 No. 2 (Robert Schumann)

 
Click here to search for this composer on CPDL

External links

• Official site

Missing from the above list

• Ett barn är fött på denna dag (Traditional)
• Fain would I change that note (Tobias Hume)
• Flow not so fast ye fountains (John Dowland)
• Gläd dig, du Kristi brud (Jacob Regnart)
• Glimmande nymf (Carl Michael Bellman)
• Gute Nacht (Robert Franz)
• Haga (Fjärlin vingad) (Carl Michael Bellman)
• Here she her sacred bower adornes (Thomas Campion)
• Höga berg och djupa dalar (Traditional)
• Hosianna (Georg Joseph Vogler)
• If I urge my kind desires (Philip Rosseter)
• If she forsake me (Philip Rosseter)
• Im wunderschönen Monat Mai (Robert Schumann)
• Jag vet en dejlig rosa (Traditional)
• Käraste bröder, systrar och vänner (Carl Michael Bellman)
• Klang, min vackra bjällra (Eva Toller)
• Klara solen på himmelen den lyser (Eva Toller)
• Kom Julia, vi gå (Traditional)
• Kristallen den fina (Traditional)
• La fleur (aria from 'Carmen') (Georges Bizet)
• Loch Lomond (Traditional)
• Måltidssång (Så lunka vi…) (Carl Michael Bellman)
• Nå, skruva fiolen (Carl Michael Bellman)
• Natthimmelen (Erik Gustaf Geijer)
• Nu ska vi skörda linet idag (Traditional)
• Nu tändas tusen juleljus (Emmy Köhler)
• Om sommaren sköna (Traditional)
• Ovisa (Ingemar Ragnemalm)
• Phillis was a faire maide (Giles Earle)
• Pur dicesti, o bocca bella (Antonio Lotti)
• Ritsch, ratsch, filibom bom bom (Traditional)
• Se Florindo e fedele (Alessandro Scarlatti)
• Shall I come, sweet love, to thee (Thomas Campion)
• Sleepe, sleepe (Giles Earle)
• Solen glimmar blank och trind (Carl Michael Bellman)
• Stolta stad (Carl Michael Bellman)
• Sweet Cupid, ripen her desires (William Corkine)
• Tänker du, att jag förlorader är (Traditional)
• The foggy, foggy dew (Traditional)
• The real old mountain dew (Traditional)
• The water is wide (Traditional)
• Till Ulla Winblad (Carl Michael Bellman)
• Tjuv och tjuv, det ska du heta (Traditional)
• Tre små gummor (Traditional)
• Ulla, min Ulla (Carl Michael Bellman)
• Un' aura amorosa (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
• Uppå källabacken (Traditional)
• Vårvindar friska (Eva Toller)
• Väva vadmal (Traditional)
• When lo, by break of morning (Thomas Morley)
• Woeful heart with grief oppressed (John Dowland)