ALL THAT OUR MOTHERS HAVE FOUGHT is a collection of contemporary, Norwegian choral works portraying strong women. The music illustrate some of the many storms that women have had to – and still have to – weather. They tell stories about the women’s suffrage movement, about a Syrian student risking her life to complete her medical education, and about a small girl’s defiance. All these stories open our eyes to different viewpoints on women’s struggles. The driving force behind this collection is our wish to provide new perspectives on the weeping women of the Norwegian national anthem, thru music composed by Tone Åse, Trond Kverno, Marianne Reidarsdatter Eriksen, Birgit Djupedal, Ellen Lindquist and Eva Holm Foosnæs.

The sound of the horn epitomized stormy emotions for composers of Romantic music. Robert Schumann is said to have spoken of the horn as being the orchestra's soul. For poets, the horn's sound was a symbol of the soul's longing. For horn players, however, what was at stake for much of the Romantic period was the soul of the horn itself, for it was an instrument that faced experiment and change occasioned by new technology, notably the invention of the valve. This recording explores and illustrates this important era in the evolution of the horn.

Featuring music created in the spur of the moment, straight from the heart, and inspired by a deep connection to New York life and scenery—this collection contains some of Gjeilo’s most soulful and passionate music; ranging from the introspective wistfulness of Dark Blue to the serene joyfulness of Snow in New York, and to fantasies around his own choral works.

A 2021 GRAMMY Nominee for Best Immersive Audio Album!

The Norwegian Girls Choir and pianist Tord Gustavsen combine their talents in a programme of much-loved Christmas carols, leading the audience through expressive improvisations and quiet melancholy to glittering, ecstatic moments. Anne Karin Sundal-Ask directs the performances with attention to each individual singer and to the distinctive sound of the choir as a whole. The result is an uplifting, emotional encounter in which these radiant, young voices appeal to our very hearts. The Norwegian Girls Choir is an independent continuation of The Norwegian Broadcasting Company’s Girls Choir, which was established in 1947. The choir has long been a strong institution in Norwegian cultural life, and it has fostered a number of great singers, musicians and artists.

HOFF ENSEMBLE consists of some of Norway's finest jazz and session musicians, fronted by trumpeter Mathias Eick, of ECM renown, who plays a leading role in several of the compositions. The ensemble's basic quartet features legendary veteran bassist Arild Andersen and arranger Jan Gunnar Hoff on piano. Hoff has performed with his own group since 1993, collaborating with such artists as Mike Stern, Pat Metheny, Maria Joao and Alex Acuna. This time in this great Norwegian band he mixes flavours in a "cross-over" setting. Eick, with whom Hoff has worked on earlier projects, was the obvious first choice for QUIET WINTER NIGHT, along with Andersen and the rest of the band, complemented by Rune Arnesen (ex N.P.Molvær) on percussion and Børge Petersen-Øverleir, Norway's leading session guitarist.

Brilliant fiddle player Annbjørg Lien is an exciting addition to the HOFF ENSEMBLE, giving QUIET WINTER NIGHT a sound that is definitely Nordic with elements of jazz, folk and beyond, making this an interesting and original journey. On some of the instrumental tracks, like "Blågutten", Eick and Petersen-Øverleir create an overall jazz/fusion sound, while the trio setting of "Redd Mamma" is reminiscent of the work of Sweden's Jan Johansson. "Hva skal hende nå" bears comparison with Metheny's ballad form, yet with a more rock-influenced guitar sound. This tune also includes a great bass solo by Andersen.

The music is created by film composers Geir Bøhren and Bent Åserud and among the vocalists are some of Norway's top names (and Universal artists) in popular music: Helene Bøksle, Åsne Valland Nordli, Sondre Bratland, Unni Wilhelmsen, Tomine Harket, Bjørn Johan Muri, Cecilia Vennersten and Bjørn Eidsvåg.

The music captured by 2L features Norwegian composers and performers, and an international repertoire reflected in the Nordic atmosphere. The surround sound recordings of Lindberg Lyd not only transforms the entire listening experience, more radically, these innovative recordings overturn some very basic concepts regarding how music is played and even composed. 2L emphasizes surround sound with Pure Audio Blu-ray and HiRes file distribution, and have garnered no less than 12 American GRAMMY nominations over the past six years.

Kristian Ofstad Lindberg writes: “The title of this recording is inspired by the painter and poet William Blake's collection of poems, Songs of Innocence and of Experience. It is a title that lends itself well to the pieces presented here, exploring as they do themes of light and darkness, life and death, angelic purity and demonic passion. These works are among those most frequently performed by pianists and they have each long been a central part of my own repertoire. They are however, compositions rich enough in their expression to be able to carry a steady stream of new interpretations; interpretations that together constitute a continually changing tradition.”

The Magnificat is the Virgin Mary's song of praise to God after one of the Bible's greatest wonders: the angel Gabriel visiting her with the message that she is to be the mother of God's son. + In his setting composer Kim Andr� Arnesen expresses the feelings Mary must have felt: wonder, devotion, gratitude, joy, humility, hope and compassion. + God's selection of an unknown woman living in poverty to be the mother of His son is a bottom-up view of the world if ever there was one - and Arnesen sees the Magnificat as offering support and hope for all people struggling against adversity or in need of strength. + Musica Celestis portrays the ceaseless praising of God by angels in heaven. + Aaron Jay Kernis builds his work around a fairly simple melody that he remolds in a series of variations. + The intensely beautiful and mostly barren Hardangervidda mountain plateau inspired Ola Gjeilo to write Tundra, while his Song of the Universal expresses unabashed optimism, exuberance and poet Walt Whitman's unwavering confidence in our deeper humanity - all through the prism of a big, warm, beating heart.

Autumn and winter bring months of cold and darkness to the North. This is why we have always so warmly embraced the Christmas season in our part of the world. For we celebrate not only the Christian festival, we also celebrate the turning of the sun and the promise of longer, lighter days to come. "Ljos" celebrates this very light — the light that shines at the darkest time, bringing warmth and hope. Fauna present a wonderful selection of Christmas songs — some familiar, some new and tantalizing to the ear — from their native Norway, which through distinctive, sensitive arrangements recreate the contrast between light and dark.

This album is entitled "Eventyr" — a Norwegian word that conjures up fairy tales, stories of adventure and stories of fantasy. The tales and stories on this album are wild, beautiful, full of sorrow and of joy, and full of magic and love. Adventure stories inspire us and allow us to escape into the world of fantasy — and they bring us together. Christian Grøvlen is a Norwegian pianist and composer. He has performed as soloist with many of Norway’s leading orchestras, has participated in all Norway’s music festivals and has played with many different artists. His first album, Bach – Inside Polyphony, was released by 2L and received extremely warm reviews. It was acclaimed as one of the year’s best recordings by the Norwegian weekly newspaper Morgenbladet. In addition to his work as soloist, Christian is eagerly sought after by singers as accompanist. The present album, Eventyr, sees him returning to his musical roots. Christian is also director of the KODE art, craft, design and music museums at Troldhaugen, Lysøen and Siljustøl, and of The Edvard Grieg International Piano Competition.

"Some of the most beautifully played and appealing contemporary chamber and piano pieces you're likely to hear", said American Record Guide about the album Mezzotints – Chamber Music by Ståle Kleiberg. And now there is a follow-up: a new string quartet, two trio constellations and the song cycle ‘Do You Believe in Heather?’, which has given the album its title. Ståle Kleiberg is often called a "modern romantic", and for good reason. We encounter a distinctive and highly individual alloy of modern and romantic elements in his music, whether it is characterized by a still, meditative lyricism or an energizing vitality. His String Quartet no. 3 encompasses this entire range of expression. The music speaks of summer. It is imbued with joie de vivre, and was composed with a full command of the genre and with considerable virtuosity. The flute-viola-harp ensemble is less common, but by no means unknown. Following Debussy's Sonata, several trios have been composed for this ensemble, and Kleiberg's ‘Trio Luna’ is a fine and most welcome addition. The work's three movements capture the mood of three dissimilar outer and inner landscapes, all of them bathed in moonlight, albeit at different times of day and night. ‘The Light Smith’ is also a trio; it is a song cycle for mezzo-soprano, clarinet and piano, and is chamber music on a very high level of inspiration. Both ‘The Light Smith’ and ‘Do You Believe in Heather?’ are settings of poetry by the distinguished Norwegian poet Helge Torvund. These poems engage with such archetypal themes as light, quietude, love, death and nature, but they treat these themes as real, everyday experiences, rather than abstract concepts. While the theme of ‘The Light Smith’ centers on the beginnings, growth and culmination of life, it is autumn and winter we meet in ‘Do You Believe in Heather?’

1802 was the crisis year in which Beethoven the artist committed Beethoven the man to fate – and became immortal. He was beset with mounting problems: progressive deafness, strong feelings of alienation and the conviction that he was being excluded from social and official life in Vienna. During his stay at Heiligenstadt in the summer and autumn of 1802 he writes testaments in words and in music that show his path ahead to his middle period, often called "the heroic". His Sonata no. 9 for violin and piano, the Kreutzer, is a defining work for the year 1802 and for Beethoven's heroic style. In sharp contrast is the high-spirited Sonata no. 8, but together – and particularly when considered in light of the so-called Heiligenstadt Testament – these two sonatas reveal something of the creative and existential struggle he was enduring. 1802: the year when Beethoven became Beethoven.

This 2-disc set consists of a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players plus an audio-only (i.e., with no video content) Blu-ray disc of the same music playable only on Blu-ray players.