Ett skepp kommer lastat (2024)
(A Ship Arrives Loaded)

A: “A ship comes loaded.”
B: “With what?”
A: “With a soprano saxophone.”

B: “A ship comes loaded.”
A: “With what?”
B: “With a soprano saxophone and a guitar.”

A: “A ship comes loaded.”
B: “With what?”
A: “With a soprano saxophone, a guitar, and a composer.”

The dialogue above illustrates the game “A Ship Comes Loaded” as I played it during long, tedious car journeys with my family in childhood. It was a game of memory: before introducing the new "cargo," you had to list all the previous items in order. Quickly, the lists would grow into long sequences of peculiar things! To make it easier to remember, one could recite everything rhythmically, following an underlying beat. The game continued until only one player remained, having flawlessly remembered every item while others faltered.

My composition is built on the same principle, with small musical fragments added sequentially as follows:

A – AB – ABC – ABCD – ABCDE… etc.

The patterns grow increasingly complex, yet each time they return to the beginning before expanding further. And just like in the game, there is always an underlying rhythm to which the various fragments relate. My piece is written in four movements, where each new movement marks the start of a new sequence or round of the game. As the music develops, I adhere less literally to the rules of the game, but its essence—the principle of addition—permeates the entire work.

The sense of playfulness itself is also an important source of inspiration for this piece. In the best moments, as a composer, it can feel just like this: as if a ship of inspiration arrives, laden with phrases and rhythms that you weave into the musical fabric.

A Ship Comes Loaded is written for and dedicated to the exceptional musicians Anders Paulsson and Jacob Kellermann.

Britta Byström, 2024