15.02.2013

SE & HØR

Komponist Bent Sørensen anbefaler Seismografs lyttere værket “Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco” fra 1980 af den engelske komponist Jonathan Harvey.

"Jeg købte LP-pladen helt tilbage i 1985, da den næsten lige var udkommet: “Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco” af Jonathan Harvey. Den stod placeret midt imellem to franske ensembleværker. Begyndelsen af værket ramte mig som en hammer: Klokkerne, stemmerne. Jeg vidste ikke meget om brug af konkret lyd; men jeg mærkede, at det var virkeligheden gjort til musik på den mest fraperende og vidunderlige måde.

Senere forsvandt min pladespiller, og jeg hørte ikke værket i mange år. Så - for få uger siden - mistede vi Harvey. Mistede en af de allerstørste komponister fra vor egen tid og fra alle tider. Dette vidunderlige menneske, der hellere ville tale om stjernerne end om sin egen musik, selvom hans egen musik former de smukkeste stjerner.

Så hørte jeg “Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco” igen, og jeg mærkede, at jeg nok har hørt det hele tiden gennem årene. Hørt det, når jeg gik på gaden og lyttede til virkeligheden. Hørt det, når jeg gik over Assistens Kirkegård, hvor træerne former katedraler over stierne. Hørt det, uden at vide det, da jeg selv for nogle år siden smeltede kirkeklokker fra Hærvejen ind i kormusik til “Den hvide skov”. Det er et værk, der har lagt sig som latent, evig inspiration i mig, og det har aldrig sluppet mig - selv ikke i den lange periode, hvor jeg havde glemt det."

Hør Bent Sørensens anbefaling: Jonathan Harveys "Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco”.

playlist

11.09.2023

My name is John Grant – would you like to see my playlist?

»Music has been a healing balm for me.«

John William Grant is an American singer, musician, and songwriter holding both American and Icelandic citizenship. He first came to prominence as a co-founder, lead vocalist, pianist, and primary songwriter of the alternative rock band The Czars. After releasing six albums between 1994 and 2006, the band disbanded, and Grant withdrew from music for four years before embarking on a solo career.

He returned in April 2010 with a critically acclaimed debut album recorded in collaboration with Midlake. Queen of Denmark was named Album of the Year 2010 by Mojo magazine and was also selected as one of the ten best albums of 2010 by The Guardian’s music critics and writers.

playlist

13.06.2023

My name is Allan Gravgaard Madsen – would you like to see my playlist?

»In his music, composer Allan Gravgaard Madsen tries to create a better version of himself.«

Allan Gravgaard Madsen is a Danish composer based in Copenhagen. His most recent works include Träume nicht and Nachtmusik. He tries to create a better version of himself in his music – where his personality tends to be restless, chatty and has an active inner life, his music is controlled, simple and merciless in its expression. He is the recipient of the Carl Nielsen & Anne Marie Carl-Nielsens Hæderspris 2022.

in briefrelease

23.01.2022

Finnish Space Travel

Tomutonttu: »Hoshi«

Vauva, 02.12

Kristoffer Møllegaard

The Finnish multimedia artist Jan Anderzén has, with the album Hoshi, released under the solo moniker Tomutonttu, created a true little star. Not only because »hoshi« literally means »star« in Japanese, but above all due to the music itself. There is something cosmic, yet infinitely minute, about the sonic worlds Anderzén conjures—like a galaxy reflected in a puddle, or a space journey in a rocket carved from a hollow tree trunk. Synths emit busy, warm blips and bloops, while ultra-short vocal and instrumental samples create a recognizable blur. At once artificial and organic – soft, rounded, jagged, crackling.

Anderzén approaches sound with a playfulness I simply adore. His music is strange in an incredibly comforting way. It places me in a kind of colorful, trance-like state, only interrupted when, several times over the course of the album, I find myself smiling in delight at a particularly great sound. The synths on »Katse osuu sähköön!« The choral samples on »Kesä oli äkkiä ohi!« Milo Linnovaara’s flute on »Malta lausua ‘AH’!« And many more. Hoshi is an album packed with microscopic moments that together form a frayed, exploding, radiant, idiosyncratic whole—a stellar moment of just under 38 minutes.