Ulf Långbacka
Ulf Långbacka’s work spans a wide and varied landscape of choral and vocal music. He is deeply attentive to the meaning of the text, while at the same time exploring the expressive and experimental possibilities of the human voice. His instrumental music is marked by a powerful rhythmic drive and, in recent years, by a fascination with sonic textures and timbral experimentation, often shaped through the interplay of acoustic sound and electronics.
Ulf Långbacka studied at Åbo Akademi University and the Sibelius Academy. From 1991 to 2025, he served as a lecturer in music at Åbo Akademi University. Until 2022, he led the student choirs Florakören and Brahe Djäknar as part of his duties. He has composed a large number of choral works as well as many major commissioned works in various genres. His first opera, Henrik and the Witch Hammer, was performed in 2011 as part of Turku’s European Capital of Culture year. In recent years, he has focused on chamber music, with particular emphasis on works that combine electronics with acoustic instruments, such as Tipping Point (2021), featuring sounds recorded from the seabed; the multimedia work Void (2022); and the dance work Musta Narsissi – Black Narcissus, which was premiered by the Helsinki-based Willman Dance Company at Dance House Helsinki in October 2024.
| Title | Instrumentation | Year | Category | Duration | Available from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 sånger om kärlek | chf [SSAA] + 2sopr solo, alto solo | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol | |
Adventsfantasi | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | |||
Aningar | 2222 2200 12 0, synth, pno, str | 2001 | Works for Orchestra or Large Ensemble | 11:00 | Music Finland |
Dagen då vinden vänder | chx [SSAATTBB] | 2012 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol |
Djäknesånger | chm [TTBB + tamb] | 2007 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol |
Facie ad faciem | chx | 2004 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol |
Floden | chm | 2012 | Vocal and Choral Works | 03:00 | Sulasol |
Four poems for guitar | Guitar | 2012 | Works for Solo Instrument | 00:00 | |
Frenzy | trb, pno | 1998 | Chamber Works | 00:00 | Music Finland |
Havsmusik | chx [SSSAAATTTBBB] | 2006 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol |
Henrik och häxhammaren | 1111 2220 perc (two players) p, synth, optional electronics, str, male, choir, mixed choir and soloists | 2010 | Works for the Stage | 01:30:00 | |
Hjärtats sånger | vlc, pno | 2025 | Chamber Works | 15:00 | Music Finland |
Hodie Christus Natus est | chf [SSSAAA] | 2005 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol |
jordens musik | 2222 2200 timp, perc p chx Str | Works for Orchestra or Large Ensemble | 12:00 | Finlands svenska sång-och musikförbund | |
Julpsalm | 2222 2200 timp perc chx Str | 1997 | Works for Orchestra or Large Ensemble | 08:00 | |
Julpsalm -86 | 2222 222 chx, sopr solo, str | 2007 | Vocal and Choral Works | 05:00 | |
Klage | chf, mezzo solo | 2018 | Vocal and Choral Works | 06:00 | Sulasol |
Kultaisten munien linnut | sopr, pno, perc | 2010 | Chamber Works, Vocal and Choral Works | 04:00 | Music Finland |
Kyrie | chf, sopr solo, live electr | 2009 | Vocal and Choral Works | 05:00 | Music Finland |
Motetti 1809/2009 | chx, 2sopr solo [SSAATTBB-SSAATTBB] | 2009 | Vocal and Choral Works | 02:40 | Sulasol |
Musik för alttrombon, timpani och stråkorkester | atrb, timp, str | 2004 | Chamber Works | 07:20 | Music Finland |
Musik för manskör | chm | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol | |
Natitivitas- three songs for female choir and percussion | Female choir, Percussion | 2012 | Chamber Works | 10:00 | |
Nativitas | chf, mar, glock, perc | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol | |
No man is an island | chx [SSSAAATTTBBB] | 2008 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol |
O magnum mysterium | female choir, str | 2000 | Vocal and Choral Works | 06:00 | |
Oratio de hominis dignitate | chx [SSAATTBB] | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol | |
På moln stod du! | chm [TTBB div] | 2020 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol |
Rakkaus on musta leijona | sopr, pno, perc | 2011 | Vocal and Choral Works | 04:00 | Music Finland |
Resonances and Timbres | fl, electr (fixed media) | 2014 | Works for Solo Instrument | 09:00 | Music Finland |
Samaan aikaan toisaalla | fl +pic, ob, cl+bcl, bsn, hn, 2vln, vla, vlc, db | 2012 | Chamber Works | 10:00 | Music Finland |
Sanctus | chx | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol | |
Sanctus- I krigets skugga | 2122 2200 10, str, chx, sopr solo | 2022 | Vocal and Choral Works | 07:00 | Music Finland |
Sonatina per flauto e chitarra | fl, guit | 2014 | Chamber Works | 08:00 | Music Finland |
Sonnet 60 | chx | 2017 | Vocal and Choral Works | 05:00 | Sulasol |
Staccato Conversations | fl, cl, vlc | 2022 | Chamber Works | 03:00 | Music Finland |
Stämning | chm [TTBB div] | 2020 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol |
The Sounding Island | chx [SSAATTBB] | 2016 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol |
Towards the Light | fl, ob, cl, bsn, hn, 2vln, vla, vlc, db | 2012 | Chamber Works | 00:00 | Music Finland |
Tre erotiska sånger | Male choir | 1992 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Fennica Gehrman |
Trees | chf {SSSSAAAA] | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol | |
Tre sånger för blandad kör till texter av Bo Carpelan | Chx or Vocal ensemble | 2006 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Finlands svenska sång-och musikförbund |
Tre sånger om natten | chx | 2001 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol |
Tvärtomsånger | mezzo, fl, vln, pno | 2025 | Vocal and Choral Works | 08:00 | Music Finland |
Ur Tystnaden | Female choir | 2009 | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Finlands svenska sång-och musikförbund |
winds of a day | woodwind quintet: fl -alternating on alto flute, ob, -alternating on english horn-cl in Bb-corno in F, bassoon | 2006 | Chamber Works | 08:00 | |
Winds of a Day | fl, ob, cl, bsn, hn [afl, ehn] | 2006 | Chamber Works | 08:35 | Music Finland |
Wonderful | chx [SAT] | Vocal and Choral Works | 00:00 | Sulasol |