Album Notes

Gunnar K. A. Njålsson belongs to a special strain of composers who master the beauty and depth of the music which characterised the 1960's. Just when many thought that great names like Mancini, Black and others had left the world without disciples, Njålsson appears on the scene in Finland discovered and nurtured by prolific Finnish pop composers like Maki Kolehmainen of the multi-platinum Finnish techno-band "Aikakone" (Time Machine).

Gunnar K. A. Njålsson was born in 1968 to a conservative family of landed gentry who while providing him with a private musical education, stressed the need for pursuing a hard professional career in Law or Administration. Inspired by the fact that Njalsson managed to compose his first song at the age of eight, his parents saw to it that he received instruction in piano. Not much time had passed, before he convinced them to allow him oboe lessons on the side. The oboe lessons soon became clarinet, flute and saxophone lessons as the years progressed. During his first year at college in Texas, he studied bassoon receiving highest marks. Though the year 1986 was a very productive year for Njålsson's composition endeavours, he gradually drifted away from his musical pursuits, only occasionally engaged as a vocalist. In 1992 he composed once again, this time for a radio talk show in western Finland. The year 2003 saw the full-scale revival of Njålsson as a composer when he was discovered by Maki Kolehmainen and asked to complete an album for later promotion. He produced the single "Novela Policial" together with Mr. Alex Ojasti (also of the band "Aikakone") in 2003.

The vocal and instrumental tracks combine a meloncholic and haunting melody reminiscent of Rachmaninov's work and provide the setting for an exeptionally strong performance by the classical and theatrical soloist Petra Schauman in the vocal version of "En sista vers" (A Final Verse).

"En sista vers" is a song about the bonds of friendship during life and even after death. Unusually moving and emotionally profound, the lyrics speak of loss, despair, hope and final reunion fueled by the bonds many have experienced but few can explain.

For those interested in Finnish and in particular Scandinavian music, this album provides a high quality introduction to the music and language of the far north of Europe. "En sista vers" was amongst the initial entries for the Finnish national competition of the Eurovision Song Contest.

(Bio Sources: Canadian Who's Who 2007, University of Toronto Press and Vem och vad, Schildts förlags, 2008)

ISBN13 978-0-9812475-2-6