Skuggorna och ljuset is a quintet featuring Magnus Granberg (clarinet, composition), Anna Lindal (violin), Leo Svensson Sander (cello), Kristine Scholz (prepared piano), and Erik Carlsson (percussion). Their sole album, Would Fall from the Sky, Would Wither and Die, departs from Granberg’s larger ensemble Skogen. Without electronics, the sound is more chamber-like, each gesture and note given time to settle, bloom, and fade in a gently hypnotic field.​

The work transforms the harmonic material of the 1930s standard “If I Should Lose You” - selectively quoted in the album’s title - into a tranquil landscape, free from bravado or overt dramatics. Granberg’s compositional method dissolves the recognizable melody, stretching micro-motifs across still silences and delicate instrumental mesh. Lines are elongated and sparse, the group’s interplay colored by resonant piano preparations and finely articulated percussion. All five players contribute to an environment where music moves at a deliberate, reflective pace.

The ensemble’s smaller size yields a uniquely appealing intimacy. Each performer remains essential—the music is neither dense nor overwrought, instead absorbing the listener into cycles of shadow and light. Granberg’s improvisatory experience is felt in the openness of form, encouraging the musicians to linger and respond in the moment. Would Fall from the Sky, Would Wither and Die is quietly radical, its essence found in the transformative encounters between memory, harmonic residue, and collective listening. The result is a rare chamber dialogue, speaking softly yet resonating long after its final notes disperse.