Footprint is proud to present a probing reaction to one of the landmarks of western art, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, from five Swedish composers and the...

Footprint is proud to present a probing reaction to one of the landmarks of western art, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, from five Swedish composers and the acclaimed recorder-organ duo Kondens. Goldberg 1.5 is the duo’s fresh look at the Baroque masterpiece Bach’s Goldberg Variations premiered in 2016, which asks how living composers and audiences can react anew to Bach’s hallowed but fertile music. Alongside Bach’s originals, it includes five new works by composers Lisa Ullén, Mattias Petersson, Ida Lundén, Jan Sandström and Daniel Hjorth.  Kondens is increasingly recognized as a distinctive creative force on the Nordic new music scene. Lisa Oscarsson is Organist to the City of Umeå and a graduate of the Royal College of Music and the Concert Organist Programme at the Piteå School of Music. My Eklund studied at the Malmö Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music and is known as one of Europe’s most progressive recorder players. They use an assortment of instruments on Goldberg 1.5 including two organs at Växjo Cathedral and Eklund’s collection of modern and Baroque recorders. Goldberg 1.5 takes listeners on an absorbing, boundary-blurring journey from the familiar to the new. It is blessed with a single focus but leads to an explosion of musical possibilities and reactions, and is realized through sensitive performances that push the boundaries of technique. They are captured with clarity and presence on this new recording.