Benedicte Maurseth

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Cat No: HCD7347

Release Date: 23 August 2019

Label: Heilo

Packaging Type: Digipak

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 7033662073474

Genres: World Music European

Description

Benedicte Maurseth is a remarkable musician, rooted in tradition yet a true visionary, the unique sound of her Hardanger fiddle displaying both the eloquent fragility and the raw power of the human spirit. Here, in perhaps her most personal album to date, she's alone but never isolated.

Hers is an impressive career whose many recordings have included her acclaimed international release "Over Tones" on the ECM label in 2014, collaborations with such genre defying musicians as Nils Okland and Marilyn Crispell, David Rothenberg, lutenist Rolf Lislevand and the renowned Norwegian writer Jon Fosse. She's in demand as a collaborator because of her belief in experiment and improvisation, and her sense of creative adventure

From the mysterious opener 'Bygdatraen', to her quietly compelling voice entering in 'Og fargane skiftar pa fjorden' to a silvery Hulderslat and the final, prayer-like 'Huldre Mi', she reveals a confidence, a deep belief in what she's doing. Benedicte talks about having "variations" or "options" when working with tunes from centuries ago; it's been her natural way of approaching music ever since childhood and her lessons with her teacher Knut Hamre. Being "wrong" is not a possibility, and nor does that approach sit within the legacy of Norwegian traditional music. Norway's languages, spoken or musical, reflect enormously varied geographical traditions, human needs and expression. You cannot be wrong but you can celebrate differences, differences in the interpretations of tunes, differences in techniques.

The sound here, on this recording, has a genuine validity, this is not just an album of Hardanger fiddle music, this is Benedicte Maurseth, no-one else. She engages with the listener through the space she creates, how she paces and places the different tracks, and how each is a step along the path. She gives her listener a sense of involvement, moments of delight and dance, of disruption and challenge, of surprise as we hear her own voice in song taking us to other imagined places. But perhaps most of all she gives the listener respect in allowing each of us to reflect and be just who we need to be at any given moment. There is room for Benedicte's narrative as well as our own.
Fiona Talkington, March 2019
Tracklisting