Sanger Ved Havets Begynnelse Ketil Bjørnstad, Solveig Andsnes, Nils Økland, Rune Arnesen

• Ketil Bjørnstad (b. 1952): Første sang:
• 1Bjørnstad: Første sang07:39
• Andre Sang:
• 2Bjørnstad: Andre Sang04:08
• Tredje Sang:
• 3Bjørnstad: Tredje Sang04:31
• Fjerde Sang:
• 4Bjørnstad: Fjerde Sang02:10
• Femte Sang:
• 5Bjørnstad: Femte Sang02:24
• Sjette Sang:
• 6Bjørnstad: Sjette Sang01:57
• Syvende Sang:
• 7Bjørnstad: Syvende Sang03:22
• Åttende Sang:
• 8Bjørnstad: Åttende Sang06:48
• Niende Sang:
• 9Bjørnstad: Niende Sang03:12
• Tiende Sang:
• 10Bjørnstad: Tiende Sang04:21
• Ellevte Sang:
• 11Bjørnstad: Ellevte Sang04:56
• Tolvte Sang:
• 12Bjørnstad: Tolvte Sang03:57
• Trettende Sang:
• 13Bjørnstad: Trettende Sang02:20
• Fjortende Sang:
• 14Bjørnstad: Fjortende Sang07:01
• Total Runtime58:46

Info for Sanger Ved Havets Begynnelse

Commissioned work by Ketil Bjørnstad based on the poem "The Cemetery by the Sea" by Paul Valéry. With Ketil Bjørnstad, Solveig Andsnes, Nils Økland and Rune Arnesen.

Ketil Bjørnstad has written a new work based on the poem "Le Cimetiere Marin" by Paul Valery. This poem was famously used by Fartein Valen when he wrote his most famous composition of the same name. The concert production will be performed on Wednesday 27 April 2022. Valéry was born in Séte, France, a town on the Mediterranean coast. Séte has a cholera cemetery located on a hill above the town. Valéry completed the poem in 1922 and it has been translated into many languages. It describes human life in a beautiful and poetic way.

The festival will mark the 100th anniversary of the poem's publication. It is an important poem that is still relevant today. The Norwegian actor Pelle Christensen wrote a Norwegian rewrite in 1972, which we are very grateful to make available to Ketil Bjørnstad. The aim of the festival is to create a meeting place between different artistic expressions from different times that deal with what it is like to be human. This brings us behind the notes in the music and the deeper understanding of the meaning behind the words in the poem.

Ketil Bjørnstad calls his composition "Songs at the beginning of the sea" and he is accompanied by fantastic musicians: Solveig Andsnes, Nils Økland and Svein Arnesen. Bjørnstad opens the concert with a solo section. This will be a great experience to experience!

Ketil Bjørnstad, piano
Solveig Andsnes, vocals
Nils Økland, violin
Rune Arnesen, percussion

Ketil Bjørnstad
described as “a cultural prodigy” by The Guardian’s John Fordham, started out as a classical pianist, making his debut with the Oslo Philharmonic, playing Bartók. Encounters with jazz of the late 1960s, especially Miles and Coltrane, changed his priorities and he was fascinated also by the new Norwegian improvising scene that ECM was documenting. Soon he switched streams and began playing with the jazz men. Simultaneously he has maintained a career as a respected writer with many books to his credit – novels, poems, essays and more.

Ketil Bjørnstad’s recent ECM releases have included “Life In Leipzig” with Terje Rypdal, the song cycle “The Light” with Randi Stene and Lars Anders Tomter, and “Remembrance” with Tore Brunborg and Jon Christensen.

Bjørnstad’s recordings have been incorporated in the soundtracks of numerous films, including several by Jean-Luc Godard: “Notre Musique”, “The Old Place”, “Histoire(s) du Cinéma”, “Forever Mozart” and “Eloge de L’amour”.

After playing double-bass with the Oslo Philharmonic Orcherstra and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Svante Henryson (born in Stockholm in 1963) effected an about-turn in his career and joined Yngwie Malmsteen’s band as bass guitarist in 1989. This led to much session work and collaborations in the pop world, and Henryson has appeared on recordings of Stevie Wonder, Ryan Adams and Elvis Costello, amongst others.

Self-taught as cellist, he has collaborated with many jazz musicians including Jon Balke, Nils Petter Molvaer, Trygve Seim, Arve Henriksen, Marilyn Mazur and Arild Andersen. In classical contexts he often works with Anne Sofie von Otter and has directed her tours of North America, Europe and Asia. As a composer he has written music for ensembles of all sizes – from symphony orchestra to chamber groups.

This album contains no booklet.