FREE UK SHIPPING OVER £30!

Henrik Hellstenius - Readings of Mr G | Aurora ACD5047

Henrik Hellstenius - Readings of Mr G

Label: Aurora

Cat No: ACD5047

Barcode: 7044581350478

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Chamber

Release Date: 24th March 2008

This product has now been deleted. Information is for reference only.

Contents

Works

Helstenius
Hi-Ophelia!

Helstenius
Readings of Mr. G

Helstenius
Ombra della sera

Helstenius
By the voice a faint light is shed

Helstenius
Book of Songs 1-b

Helstenius
Imprints III

Helstenius
Imprints V

Artists

BIT20 Ensemble

Conductor

Pierre-Andre Valade

Works

Helstenius
Hi-Ophelia!

Helstenius
Readings of Mr. G

Helstenius
Ombra della sera

Helstenius
By the voice a faint light is shed

Helstenius
Book of Songs 1-b

Helstenius
Imprints III

Helstenius
Imprints V

Artists

BIT20 Ensemble

Conductor

Pierre-Andre Valade

About

Henrik Helstenius’ music is lively and animated, with an interaction between musical elements that has a strong dramatic element, a reflection of the fact that Hellstenius has worked a lot with music for theatre and dance. The listener experiences an immediate sense of an underlying melodic, even lyrical, sensitivity, either directly or indirectly present.

Hellstenius’ close collaboration with the violinist Peter Herresthal and percussionist Hans-Kristain Kjos Sørensen have resulted in two concertos. In 'Readings of Mr G', instrumental and theatrical elements are combined. The percussionist is not only a musician, but speaker also: an actor in the widest sense. In the beautiful violin concerto 'By the voice a faint light is shed', Hellstenius creates the illusion of a temporal paradox, in that the music has a forward-moving development, but twists and turns will inevitably return us to the point of origin, revealing what the composer calls a ‘spiral form’.

'Hi Ophelia!' is the title of the third scene in Hellstenius second opera: “Ophelias: Death by Waters singing”. Even though this excerpt is removed from the drama of the opera, the music’s transient textures, vital pauses and melodic tendencies nonetheless convey the innocent Ophelia’s dreams, expectations and hopes of the future, before she is reduced to a pawn in the struggle for power.

A close connection to theatre also exists with the works Book of Songs and Imprints, both sets deriving from work Hellstenius has done for choreographer Ingun Bjørnsgaard’s productions. In Ombra della sera, various musical fragments of the Italian composer Luigi Nono are the basis for the work, allowing Hellstenius’ unmistakable flexibility, marked, gestural lines and extrovert temperament, to function almost like an active counterpoint to Nono’s music.

Tracklisting:
1. Hi-Ophelia!
BIT20 Ensemble • Pierre-André Valade, conductor
2. Readings of Mr. G
Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen, percussion and voice
BIT20 Ensemble • Pierre-André Valade, conductor
3. Ombra della sera
Dan Styffe, double bass • Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen, percussion
4. By the voice a faint light is shed
BIT20 Ensemble • Peter Herresthal, violin
Pierre-André Valade, conductor
5. Book of Songs 1-b
Frode Larsen, violin
6. Imprints III
Frode Larsen, violin • Jon Sønstebø, viola • Emery Cardas, cello
7. Imprints V
Frode Larsen, violin • Jon Sønstebø, viola • Emery Cardas, cello

BIT20 Ensemble:
• Peter Herresthal – violin
• Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen - percussion
• Frode Larsen – violin
• Jon Sønstebø – viola
• Emery Cardas – cello

Error on this page? Let us know here

Need more information on this product? Click here