A common theme on this recording is traditional music. "Noringen" is the name of a well-known 'gangar,' a Norwegian traditional dance. It was especially popular in Vestlandet, the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. The dance tune was played the morning after the wedding, when the guests were served food and drink, often after having danced all night. The word means nourishment. The artists write: "Saxophone and organ sound good together and complement each other well, yet little music has been written for this instrumental combination. For this reason, we are always looking for music that works well and often it is music written for instruments other than our own. Part of the effort of finding good music involves getting accomplished composers and arrangers to write for us. This recording is the concrete result of a concert tour we undertook in Slovakia during some hectic days in 2017. It features a broad range of music, and the quality, we feel, merits being presented on this album. In addition to the rehearsed repertoire, Bjorn Luksengard, church organist in Sande, Vestfold, sent us his arrangements and compositions during the tour. To some extent we developed the repertoire between the concerts and also tried out some of the music in concert situations..."

Voices of Women is the second CD release by the duo of mezzo-soprano Bettina Smith and pianist Einar R�ttingen. The recording highlights women's voices in world literature: Goethe's female characters "Mignon" and "Suleika," Shakespeare's "Ophelia," and the gospel according to Mary Magdalene. The musicians have placed their focus on contemporary Norwegian music composed for voice and piano, and two of the works were written especially for them.

The three works on these recordings seem to traverse, in sequence, three of the primary realms of human experience: Body, Spirit and Mind. However, as Carl Nielsen pointed out in relation to his second symphony, The Four Temperaments, the principal characters of each movement are, at times, interspersed with hints of the other temperaments. The same is the case with Bumerang, Rabalder and Svev, the three remarkable compositions by Knut Vaage on this album. There are elements of the intellectual in the very physical Bumerang. Rabalder gives the impression of being the most physical of the three, until we realize it is set out as a spiritual journey from noise to silence and their attending emotional states. The physical and the spiritual visit themselves upon the predominantly cerebral Svev.

The combination of band and male choir is perhaps not so common today, but it was rather widespread around 1900. In addition to the works on this album, Friedrich A. Reissinger and Ole Olsen composed for band and choir in Norway, and from abroad we know works for this combination by Anton Bruckner, Franz Liszt, Gustav Holst and Kurt Weill. The repertoire consists in the main of music written for solemn occasions usually held outdoors. The choice of pure wind instrumentation in addition to the choir probably was due to both acoustic and meteorological considerations related to an outdoor performance. Moreoever, we must not forget that military bands were Norway's only profesional full-time ensembles when these pieces were written and, then as now, were the obvious choice for making music on days of national celebration. There are no earlier recordings of most of the pieces on this album, and we are not sure whether or not some were ever performed again after being premiered. This makes it all the more satisfying to shed light on them now in the hope that they may once again find their way back into concert programmes.

Norwegian composer Morten Gaathaug has largely worked in a landscape influenced by the classical music tradition. He has not regarded his task as that of inventing his own musical language, but prefers rather to find inspiration in experiments with form and in using the old language in new ways. Important sources of inspiration are traditional folk music (from Norway and abroad), as well as impressions from nature, birdsong in particular. The latter can be found in works such as "Fugler I min natt" ("Birds in My Night"), "24 fugleportretter" ("24 Bird Portraits") for piano, and "Ornis musicalis." Gaathaug has devoted special attention to particular turn-of-the-century artistic currents around 1900 associated with composers Sergei Prokofiev and Borghild Holmsen, as well as with poets such as Ragnhild Jolsen, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Sigbjorn Obstfelder. This was a period of upheaval, in which modernism pushed forward with many new forms of artistic expression. Yet at the same time, it was important to maintain a connection to the past, renewing the traditional tonal foundation. On this recording Norwegian mezzo-soprano Marianne E. Andersen gives a performance of Gaathaugs works with lyrics by Jolsen, Rilke and Obstfelder.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates it's 250th anniversary with a new CD! For this splendid celebration, the musicians of the orchestra asked their favorite Norwegian composers to create new music for them. All the works took shape in a dialogue between the composers and the soloists.

Bergen Barokk's second release on the LAWO Classics label Suite Life, takes us to the French court during the reign of the Sun King. Elegant conversation, music, painting, fencing and dance - the arts performed with a certain nonchalance - were the true test of aristocrats. The leading musicians during the Sun King's reign composed obligingly within the confines of strict protocols of style, though they were allowed to give their own personal touch. The suites on this recording are largely taken from the many great musical publications from the Paris of the early 1700's. The publications, which were released "avec Privilege du Roy" reflect the grand balls, concerts, opera and ballet performances at the court and were well-received by a bourgeoisie filled with reverence for the luxurious and illustrious court life.

As so often happens, it was during a delightful dinner one evening in 2013 with Ketil Bj�rnstad, Wiggo Andersen, Knut Kirkes�ther and Marianne Beate Kielland that an idea was hatched: Why not make a Lofoten Oratorio? Lofoten has so much to offer. A majestic and heavenly nature - beautiful, dramatic and world famous. Light that changes momentarily from one minute to the next. Long, lavish summer days on the one hand. Violent winter storms on the other. A thousand years of traditional fishing culture that Norway is built upon. Local handcraft and gourmet traditions. Dramatic tales of the fishermen's battle against the elements, of dangerous eddies that can swallow a boat whole. Last but not least all the artists who have sought inspiration for the canvas, the camera and the written word. The Lofoten Oratorio has been a tribute. A tribute to Lofoten itself and what it never ceases to give us. A tribute to it's residents, and to those who return again and again. And finally, a homage to nature and art. For without art we would despair of describing the raw Lofoten nature in the words, images, and music we have rendered for you here.

On this recording, the Engegard Quartet present three of Mozart’s six string quartets dedicated to Haydn, the so-called “Haydn” Quartets. The six “Haydn” Quartets were written between 1782 and 1785, while Mozart enjoyed great popularity in Vienna. Mozart had written a series of quartets in his youth, but it had been almost ten years since he wrote the last one. With the “Haydn” Quartets he makes quite different demands on himself, the musicians, and the audience. The structure is not so surprising- here we find fast first movements in what is today called sonata-allegro form, singable slow movements, minuets with trios, and often finale-rondos. But what he fills them with woke Haydn’s admiration and now awakens ours. Haydn’s admiration for his colleague 24 years his junior was expressed through the following words aimed at Mozart’s father Leopold: “I tell you by God as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer I know in person or by name; he has taste and furthermore the greatest compositional knowledge.” Haydn supposedly uttered this after having heard three of the quartets at a house concert at Mozart’s residence, where both Wolfgang and Leopold most likely contributed.

The Obstridt Duo writes of their new release, Battleground: “We have been exploring and performing the repertoire for trombone and organ for the best part of twenty eyars. In this seemingly narrow field of interest, we have encountered inspired, idiosyncratic and beautiful music. Composers who set out to write for this combination maximize the possibilities of the two instruments to the fullest. Consequently the music consists of significant contrasts in dynamics, register, expression and timbres. Composers tend to allow the creative juices to flow when composing for trombone and organ. They create cathedrals of sound and counterbalance this grandeur by exploiting opportunities to play softly, almost inaudibly. With few exceptions, our repertoire was written during the last half-century, and this allows us to help ourselves to the plethora of musical pickings from the twentieth and the twenty-first century. On this album, we present works composed exclusively for us, in addition to one core work for trombone and organ, Petr Eben’s Two Invocations. Stig Nordhagen has written an opening piece which will knock the socks off the listener, Lars-Thomas Holm has composed a towering epic, and Jon Laukvik has provided us with an opulent harmonized capriccio. Arne Rodvelt Olsen’s three contributions vary in dimension from the cheerful Intrada, via the stately and varied Fantasia, to Missa’s extensive musical universe. We are proud to present this music and are delighted that these composers have poured their inspiration into our requests.

Classical Music

To do the songs of Mozart is indeed something of a challenge, precisely because they are so simple. Excessive pathos or outpouring of feeling is unsuitable. Emotion is to be expressed, or course, but it must be confined to the delicate and simpler limits that Mozart has established. Therefore, acclaimed vocalist Marianne Beate Kielland has chosen to title this album “Whispering Mozart,” for that is how it feels to sing this material: as though you are whispering the words and melodies to the few who have gathered in your living room to listen. Norway’s leading mezzo-soprano, Marianne Beate Kielland studied at The Norwegian Academy of Music, as well as with Oren Brown, Barbara Bonney, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. She is one of few Scandinavian singers who has received a Grammy nomination for their vocal performances. She regularly performs with leading orchestras and choirs in Europe and has appeared with such orchestras as Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Anima Eterna, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Sinfoniker, and more.

Yuval Weinberg writes: "Much music and poetry has been written around the themes of faith and doubt. This is our point of departure. Throughout the millennia, humankind has fought over differences of religious, as well as non-religious, conviction. Yet hope is a fundamental aspect of any faith, a common resonance in spite of all differences. We have selected a variety of expressions of faith and doubt. Religious pieces from both Jewish and Christian traditions, mainly based on texts from outside the official liturgy and ceremony, are contrasted with pieces declaring faith in humankind and life before death. Musically we have chosen to focus on contemporary music, through original compositions and new arrangements based on folk music. In an ever more interwoven world, where cultures and faiths intersect and clash to an ever-increasing degree, we hope to lift up what unites us."