Description
In January 2023, the EP "Vinterstjarnor" was launched. On October 27th, the second part "Sommarstjarnor" will be released. The stargazing year culminates in the full-length album "Pleiades," which will be available on vinyl, CD, and digital platforms. This is the long-awaited second album from Swedish jazz pianist Emil Ingmar, building on the critically acclaimed debut album from 2020.
At a yard sale back home in Varmland, Sweden, I came across this beautiful book from 1902 about stargazing: "Astronomy with an Opera-Glass."
The author, G.P. Serviss, had divided the book into the 'Stars of Spring,' 'Stars of Summer,' 'Stars of Autumn,' and 'Stars of Winter.' I was captivated, not only by the hand-drawn maps of the constellations and the poetic language within its pages, but also by the notion that not much has changed (except maybe the opera-glass) when it comes to us looking up at the night sky.
The relationship between humans and space has always been polar: eternal and ever-changing, small and infinite, hope-filled and sad. I suppose standing on a frosty hill, gazing up at the Pleiades may have provided the same sense of awe, smallness, and wonder in me as for everyone else in the history of time.
It's that strange sensation of it being incomprehensible that captivates me. The stars of winter raise so many questions and provide almost no answers. They just exist up there, night after night, year after year, for millions of years.
And when the world is chaotic, I can find some sort of solace in the constancy of the stars.
