LYDER FRA VERDEN

«Places of Sounds and Words» inneholder verker hvor språk og lyder fra våre omgivelser inngår i det musikalske materialet for komponisten Henrik Hellstenius. Musikken på denne utgivelsen stiller spørsmålet om hvordan forholdet er mellom omgivelsens lyd og den musikalske lyden, eller mellom språket og den musikalske lyden. Hva skjer når lyden fra menneskemengder, trafikk, samtaler, fugler og dyr settes inn i musikalske sammenhenger med instrumenter og sang? Hvordan endrer lydenes betydning seg, og hvordan endrer de musikkens betydning?  Kan de sammen skape et nytt hele, nye sammenhenger og betydninger? Tilsvarende med det talte språket; hvordan forstår vi språket når det er en del av en musikalsk komposisjon, hvor språket både er komponert med som lyd og mening? 

 De tre stykkene på utgivelsen er et resultat av årelange samarbeid med sangeren Elisabeth Holmertz (“Places of Sounds and Words”) og ensemblene Cikada (“Places of Sounds and Words” og “Unfolded”) og asamisimasa (“Instrument of Speech”).  De er også et resultat av en kunstnerisk interesse Henrik Hellstenius har hatt for å skape et «teater i musikken», ved å innlemme elementer fra verden og språket i den kompositoriske prosessen. Musikk er i prinsippet overalt, både i lyder i våre omgivelser og i språket vi snakker. Derfor er det naturlig i dag å skape musikk med en større palett enn kun det instrumentale og vokale.  Med lydene fra verden skapes det  en spenning i det musikalske, gjennom opptak av nødsamtaler, nabokrangler, gledesrop og fortettede naturlige omgivelser.

Henrik Hellstenius er en av våre mest markante komponister, med en karriere som spenner over tre tiår. Hellstenius viser en konstant appetitt på utforskning og utvikling av sitt kunstnerskap, som omfatter alt fra opera og musikk til dans og teater til orkesterverk og kammermusikk. I 2022 mottok han Spellemannprisen som «Årets komponist» for utgivelsen «Past & Presence» (LWC1229).

SOUNDS OF THE WORLD

“Places of Sounds and Words” features works in which language and sounds from the world around us become part of the musical material of composer Henrik Hellstenius. The music on this release probes the nature of the relationship between sounds from the real world and musical sounds, and between language and musical sounds. What happens when the sounds of crowds, traffic, conversations, birds and animals are placed in a musical context with instruments and singing? How does the meaning of the sounds change, and how do they change the meaning of the music? Taken together can they create a new whole, new contexts and meanings? Likewise, with the spoken word, how do we understand language when it is a part of a musical composition in which language is composed into the work as sound and meaning?

The three pieces on this album are the result of a long-standing collaboration between singer Elisabeth Holmertz (“Places of Sounds and Words”) and the ensembles Cikada (“Places of Sounds and Words” and “Unfolded”) and asamisimasa (“Instrument of Speech”). They are also the result of an artistic interest Henrik Hellstenius has had to create a “theatre in music” by incorporating elements from the real world and language into the compositional process. Music is in principle everywhere, in the sounds of the world around us and in the language we speak. Thus it is natural today to create music with a larger palette than just the instrumental and vocal parts. With sounds from the world a musical tension is created using recordings of calls to police, neighbours quarrelling, shouts of joy, and the many sounds from the natural world.

Henrik Hellstenius is one of our most distinguished composers, with a career spanning three decades. He has shown a persistent commitment to exploring and developing his artistic production, which encompasses everything from opera and music for theatre and dance to  orchestral works and chamber music. In 2022 he received Spellemannprisen (Norway’s Grammy) as “Composer of the Year” for the release “Past & Presence” (LWC1229).

"In the works recorded here, Norwegian composer Henrik Hellstenius explores the interaction of music in the narrower sense, i.e. with instruments and the voice, with sounds of the world around us, reality, which he also sees as music in a broader sense. Hellstenius asks about the resulting changes in sounds or music and whether this creates a new whole or new contexts. The result of many years of collaboration between the composer and the singer Elisabeth Holmertz (Places of Sounds and Words) and the ensembles Cikada (Places of Sounds and Words and Unfolded) and Asamisimasa (Instrument of Speech), the works also reflect Hellstenius’ artistic interest in creating a « theater in music » with these combined means. All of the performers go beyond classical modes of presentation with the scores and also use noisy sound formations. In doing so, they convey the works in such an intense and internalized way that this alone creates sculptures worth hearing. Elisabeth Holmertz can score with an equally articulate and modulating and subtle organ. Cikada expands the classical piano trio instrumentation in the tonal means by unusual auditory formations and thus creates new stimuli. The ensemble Asamisimasa, together with the dedicated playing, also gives unusual impressions with its unusual instrumentation. In ‘Place of Sounds and Words’ Cikada creates together with the singer and recordings the most exciting work for me, because here the sounds to the instrumentalists result in a further integrated voice in the mesh, thus expanding it by one level. In ‘Instrument of Speech’, the recordings of the spoken words form a level of their own that joins the music. Unfolded, the trio with electronic ingredients, presents a somewhat amorphous picture." Uwe Krusch, pizzicato.lu, 17/12/2022