Description
Collaboration between Norwegian piano trio In the Country (pianist Morten Qvenild, bass player Roger Arntzen and drummer Pal Hausken), vocalist Solveig Slettahjell and guitarist Knut Reiersrud, with guest vocalist Solveig Slettahjell. They first assembled for a concert at the Berlin Philharmonic in 2014, which resulted in the Spellemann-nominated live album 'Norwegian Woods'. The following year, the studio album 'Trail Of Souls' was released and now, finally, a new release: 'Remembrance'. Here, Solveig Slettahjell has curated a selection of poems by Emily Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, and Emily Dickinson, which Morten Qvenild has set to music.
These poets lived in a time when life was fragile and grief was a familiar companion for many. The Bronte sisters all died early from what is believed to have been tuberculosis. The lyrics are characterised by recognition and loss, but also by hope and the will to live.
Songwriter Morten Qvenild has put these lyrics in a beautiful and deep dialogue with the music. This dialogue takes on a deeper dimension when two of our leading vocalists, Solveig Slettahjell and Sidsel Endresen, are voices in the project. Qvenild has composed grounded songs with a modern expression and has ingeniously connected and contrasted lyrics and music. With Reiersrud, Arntzen and Hausken on the team, this comes together into a very unique whole, where the music consistently reflects a deep connection with the relationship-based lyrics of Bronte and Dickinson.
Press:
"Qvenild's compositions and Reiersrud's shimmering guitar sounds create luminously delicate contemporary settings for poems by the Bronte sisters and Emily Dickinson." - The Guardian