Meditation Concerts
True to tradition, Song Circus has performed quiet improvisation concerts at institutions for addiction care and psychiatry. Each concert is different. I can get completely absorbed in artistic projects and beautiful music, but the human connections this project offers are unique. It’s an experience of touching something far greater than both the music and ourselves.
st circled around the chair in the room. His body and mind were working overtime as he tried to settle in. His leg and foot shook restlessly. The music began, and the minutes passed. Some closed their eyes, some looked at each other, one person held a hand. A little while into the concert, the foot had stilled. The restlessness was gone, at least for a moment.
Here are some moments I’d like to share:
He wasn’t fully present where he sat. His eyes fluttered as he gently rocked to the music. We reached the final song, and for a brief moment, he forgot himself: ‘Oh, if only we were there! If only we were there,’ he mumbled softly before waking up, a bit unsure and embarrassed. The glances and smiles that met him showed that he was among friends who wished him well, who wanted him to enjoy the experience.
‘Come to me every morning, and I promise I’ll quit valium,’ he said with a smile.
He almost circled around the chair in the room. His body and mind were working overtime as he tried to settle in. Once seated, his leg and foot shook restlessly, and I thought it must be exhausting. We began the music, and the minutes passed. Some people closed their eyes, some looked at each other, one person held their therapist’s hand. A little while into the concert, I noticed that his leg and foot had stilled. The restlessness was gone, at least for a moment.
‘Thank you for being here and letting us experience this together. It’s so quiet here, everything moves so slowly, so controlled, and I’m alone so much, but inside, there’s always noise and turmoil. I really needed this. I feel completely calm now. It feels good.’
It’s a beautiful room. I think about how lucky they are to be here and have access to this space. The chaplain has a good relationship with the men, and they feel safe together. It’s different here. And because it’s such a good place to be, this concert becomes something special. A calm concentration fills the room. It feels like we are one body, one breath. The music develops, we singers dare to take risks, and it becomes one of those truly special musical performances. When it’s over, we’re left with the feeling of having been part of something extraordinary. And gratitude. Afterwards, we’re invited to join a research project. They want to collaborate with us over time.
‘He almo
Young Perspectives on Contemporary Music
After a course in music criticism, students from Langhaugen High School attended the concert featuring Song Circus and Britt Pernille Frøholm at USF Verftet in Bergen on November 4th. Afterwards, they wrote reviews of the concert, which was part of this year’s nyMusikk tour.
The course was developed by critics Ida Habbestad and Hild Borchgrevink, who have extensive experience as reviewers in Aftenposten and Dagsavisen, and as editors in Ballade and Scenekunst, respectively.
“When the singers start singing, they are met with wide eyes from the audience. This is unlike anything else I have ever heard. The sounds they make are impressive and can evoke many different associations: a forest with birds, maybe cuckoos, sizzling water, like in an iron, dogs, crying, and stones skipping across water.
Contrasts make the atmosphere exciting, and they can be found both between the different parts of the music and between the voices. For example, in volume, when it is smooth versus rough or bouncing versus gliding. The contrasts in the pieces complement each other, and although there is a lot of repetition and imitation, it does not become boring to listen to, because the structure is so varied.”
— Tiril Totland, 2mm, Langhaugen High School
The vocal ensemble Song Circus and fiddler Britt Pernille Frøholm present a rich concert, inspired by the fiddle tune Graatarslagjet. Through melancholic fiddle playing and impressive vocal performances, the ensemble delivers a concert that gives you chills — but not necessarily in a comforting way.
It all begins with improvisation on the fiddle, where Frøholm guides us into the special journey through different sounds that we are about to experience. You can imagine snowflakes drifting in the air when Frøholm plays with icy precision. Although the tones may feel uncomfortable, I also experience something playful and melancholic, setting the mood for the rest of the concert.
Song Circus then performs various compositions based on the Fuglestad Brothers’ rendition of the fiddle tune. The vocal ensemble impresses with incredible sounds. We hear everything from animal-like breathing and hissing to crying and coughing. Nevertheless, the music is melodic, though in an experimental and unusual form. The performance shows that the piece is made for very skilled musicians, which I believe Song Circus certainly is. It is likely an advantage to be an audience member with a tolerant and receptive ear, as this type of music might not be for everyone.
More instruments are gradually added to the concert, and new pieces are presented. A small portable organ, also called a shruti box, helps create a more comfortable atmosphere, enhancing the mood in the fiddle tune’s story. Frøholm’s fiddling is perhaps the most important mood-setter, as it serves as its own, weeping voice. The instruments and musicians’ voices blend into each other, in a delicate balance between the tragic and the beautiful. It is the harmony of the organ, fiddle, and voices that creates the concert’s highlight.”
— Ingeborg Nygaard, 2mm, Langhaugen High School
Yay! One week left until our Bird Festival!
On the weekend of November 23-24, we are organizing a Bird Festival at Ogna!
I’ve created two small previews of Song Circus’ bird universe!
Saturday is best suited for youth and adults, while Sunday is the children’s Bird Festival day.
SATURDAY PROGRAM:
16:15 Writing workshop with Bjørn Arild Ersland and Kathy Hinde
with the opening of the Chirp & Drift installation (more info below)
18:00 Pizza for sale
19:15 Concert set with Kitchen Orchestra
20:15 Concert set with Kitchen Orchestra + Kathy Hinde (live)
SUNDAY PROGRAM:
12:15-12:45: A bird has laid golf eggs out in nature, and we need to help Hans find them. Everyone who finds one wins!
12:45-13:15: Ornithologist Øyvind Gjerde is obsessed with crows! At the Bird Festival, he will share incredible stories about the birds of Jæren.
13:15-14:00: Ogna Scene’s own Hans is selling pizza.
14:00-14:30: Experience Kathy Hinde’s Chirp & Drift installation (more info below)
14:30-15:10: The family performance “Birds” with Song Circus, storyteller Marianne Stenerud, and percussionist Odd Børge Sagland
Kathy Hinde – Chirp & Drift:
A sound and light sculpture consisting of a flock of glowing, handmade bird-like kinetic sculptures, assembled from parts of broken accordions, chirping in Morse code.
This is the first time Stavanger’s two professional free contemporary ensembles are collaborating to curate a festival. Two full days of music, art, and cultural experiences inspired by bird life!
SONG CIRCUS AT NRK «SPILLEROM!
Meet Song Circus and listen to the interview with Liv Runesdatter and Britt Pernille Frøholm at NRK «Spillerom».
About the story behind «Graatarslagjet» and the composers’ approach when they developed new works based on the fiddle tune and legend. Music from this year’s Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival.
We’re creating a Bird Festival at Ogna!
Kitchen Orchestra, Song Circus & Ogna Scene present Bird Festival at Ogna, November 23-24!
For the first time, Stavanger’s two professional contemporary music ensembles are collaborating to curate a festival. Two full days of music, art, and cultural experiences inspired by birdlife!
Saturday is best suited for youth and adults, while Sunday is the children’s bird festival day.
PROGRAM SATURDAY:
- 16:15: Writing workshop with Bjørn Arild Ersland and Kathy Hinde (NB: separate ticket required) Opening of the «Chirp & Drift» installation (see details below)
- 18:00: Pizza for sale
- 19:15: Concert set with Kitchen Orchestra
- 20:15: Concert set with Kitchen Orchestra + Kathy Hinde (live)
PROGRAM SUNDAY:
14:30-15:10: Family performance «Birds» with Song Circus, storyteller Marianne Stenerud, and percussionist Odd Børge Sagland
12:15-12:45: A bird has laid golf eggs in nature, and we need to help Hans find them. Everyone who finds one wins!
12:45-13:15: Ornithologist Øyvind Gjerde is obsessed with crows! At the Bird Festival, he shares incredible stories about the birds of Jæren.
13:15-14:00: Ogna Scene’s own Hans sells pizza.
14:00-14:30: Experience Kathy Hinde’s installation Chirp & Drift (more info below)
Another great review!
5 av 5 stjerner i http://www.chaindlk.com:
“What you will actually hear here subtly takes sound beyond the confines and preconceived notions of what you’ve ever experienced before.”
“The best way of describing “Landscape” is an aural dreamworld that sometimes mixes natural ambient with snippets of other-worldly elements, and also whispers. Vocally, the composition ranges from onomatpoetic utterings to seductive, siren-like glissandoes.”
…..
“I readily admit that most of my interest in avant-garde modern music stemmed from an earlier time when I was ever so curious about music that did not conform to convention and transcended traditional form. ‘Anatomy of Sound’ however has rekindled a spark for this kind of thing, being some of the best “new music” I’ve heard in a long, long while.”
Thank you for the collaboration, Ultima!
Graataralagjet, which Song Circus and I have been working on for a long time, premiered at the Ultima Festival.
Kulturkirken Jakob was the perfect venue, and Tove Kommedal’s installation artwork was expressive and enhanced the experience. Nils Henrik Asheim’s and Therese Birkelund Ulvo’s compositions have given us music that we will perform many times and that will continue to live on with us. In November, we will premiere the final piece in the Graataralagjet trilogy, Stones by Tyler Futrell, another beautiful work.
A huge thank you to Thorbjørn Tønder Hansen and the Ultima team. You have been professional to the fingertips!
Graatarslagjet at Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival
- ANATOMY OF SOUND – ALBUM & FILM
- BIRDS
- GRAATARSLAGJET
- SONGBOOK OF BREAST – MUSIC THEATRE
- THE DIGITAL CUCUMBER
- UPSWEEP-WHISTLE-BLOOP
- TREVOR WISHART PROJECT
- PERSEFONE
- LANDSCAPES WITH FIGURES
- INTERACTIONS & IMPROVISATIONAL MUSIC
- WORKSHOPS
- OTHER WORKS
- SOUND OF A CAGE
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Song Circus is a Norwegian chamber ensemble of professional and improvising singers. The ensemble is specializing in the interpretation of contemporary music.
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SONG CIRCUS PERFORMING GRAATARSLAGJET
SONG CIRCUS & FRØHOLM performing ABSENCE (2019) by composer THERESE BIRKELUND ULVO at ULTIMA Oslo Contemporary Music Festival. Interactive installation by TOVE KOMMEDAL. Commissioned by Song Circus. First Premiere 2019.
Birds!
This spring Song Circus did a tour with our project «Birds», a sensual and imaginative narrative performance for children inspired by the birdlife around us!
With: Song Circus, Odd Børge Sagland (percussion) and Marianne Stenerud (storyteller)
Song Circus/ Tarozzi/Walker – music by Criton at Only Connect Festival
Is it possible to mix spectral music with Pauline Oliveros and Salvatore Sciarrino? According to Bjørnar Hsbbestad and nyMusikk, we did so when we performed Pascale Criton’s music for the first time in Norway in May, together with violinist Silvia Tarozzi and cellist Deborah Walker.
According to 5 against 4 it was a nice experience!
«All five performers were involved in Soar II, receiving its world première, and to a large extent the music inhabited a related soundworld to the solo pieces. Close unisons abounded, notes jarring and buzzing in close proximity like same-charged magnetic poles repulsing each other. It was deeply mesmeric, exhibiting an incredible sense of simultaneous tension and rest; yet in almost every other respect the piece was similarly liminal, continuously caught between unison and dissonance, movement and stasis, noise and breath, and at the last, between sound and silence, voices and instruments alike interacting with air to create only the idea of sound, an idea made real in our imaginations. Absolutely stunning.»
Graatarslagjet – review by http://5against4.com!
What to say, except for feeling thankful? What a lovely review!
«One of the most beautiful works I heard took place at Kulturkirken Jakob in an afternoon concert given by the outstanding vocal quartet Song Circus (who had been so impressive at this year’s Only Connect festival).»
….
«– the work, including hardanger fiddle performed by Britt Pernille Frøholm, was breathtakingly immediate, creating drama from the most microscopic of sounds and gestures. Soft, close singing was interspersed with articulated breaths and a plethora of tiny vocal tics and twitches, many of which seemed almost involuntary. Although its language was, from one perspective, a broken-up network of minutiae strung together into a loose-woven tapestry, there was at the same time a sense that everything we were hearing had actually begun life as a changeless, eternal drone, which was being modulated and disrupted by the quartet’s vocal actions. At one extreme, Ulvo practically destroyed the fabric of the music later on via an outbreak of stubbornly persistent coughs, while at the other extreme, she united the singers into small concentrations that vaguely resembled chant. Though it was in its own way just as wildly experimental as the rest of the music during the opening weekend at Ultima 2019, Absence had a focus, an intensity and above all an elegance that set it apart.»
Read the whole review here: http://5against4.com/2019/09/20/ultima-2019-part-2/?fbclid=IwAR3fu_K8STZJ3BnLP0JZnt51_QEnXRCFXJVrKfxiRsfgrT0dJSSqxDqF_m0#more-36758
Song Circus performing Pascale Criton at Only Connect
Er det mulig å blande spectral music med Pauline Oliveros og Salvatore Sciarrino? I følge Bjørnar Habbestad og nyMusikk, var det akkurat det vi gjorde, da vi, fiolinist Silvia Tarozzi (FR) og cellist Deborah Walker (FR) urframførte Pascale Critons musikk under Only Connect i mai. Det er første gang Pascal Criton og hennes musikk er fremført her til lands.
I følge «5 against 4» var det en god opplevelse!
«All five performers were involved in Soar II, receiving its world première, and to a large extent the music inhabited a related soundworld to the solo pieces. Close unisons abounded, notes jarring and buzzing in close proximity like same-charged magnetic poles repulsing each other. It was deeply mesmeric, exhibiting an incredible sense of simultaneous tension and rest; yet in almost every other respect the piece was similarly liminal, continuously caught between unison and dissonance, movement and stasis, noise and breath, and at the last, between sound and silence, voices and instruments alike interacting with air to create only the idea of sound, an idea made real in our imaginations. Absolutely stunning.»
World Premiere at Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival!
Last weekend was the world premiére of our new performance «Graataralagjet», a new vocal song cycle and a themed concert based around one of Norway’s grisliest folk tunes. We have commissioned new works from Norwegian composers Therese Birkelund Ulvo and Nils Henrik Asheim, and together with us, as a guest musician, was the wonderful fiddle player Britt Pernille Frøholm.
Kulturkirken Jakob was the perfect stage, and Tove Kommedals visual installation became the immersive and expressive artwork we wished for. Nils Henrik Asheims and Therese Birkelund Ulvo have both composed music we will bring with us and perform a lot. The last piece in the Graataralagjet trilogy, Stones by Tyler Futrell, will be premiered in November, another beautiful piece of music! Thank you Thorbjørn Tønder Hansen and the Ultima festival team. You were professional to the fingertips!
Yet another new and lovely review!
5 of 5 stars in http://www.chaindlk.com:
«What you will actually hear here subtly takes sound beyond the confines and preconceived notions of what you’ve ever experienced before.»
«The best way of describing «Landscape» is an aural dreamworld that sometimes mixes natural ambient with snippets of other-worldly elements, and also whispers. Vocally, the composition ranges from onomatpoetic utterings to seductive, siren-like glissandoes.»
…..
«I readily admit that most of my interest in avant-garde modern music stemmed from an earlier time when I was ever so curious about music that did not conform to convention and transcended traditional form. ‘Anatomy of Sound’ however has rekindled a spark for this kind of thing, being some of the best «new music» I’ve heard in a long, long while.»
Songbook of Breast – in development
Music Theater / Live Art Theater.
Studies of the Female Breast as a Meaning-Bearing Universe.
Contributors:
Song Circus (ensemble) / Laura Bowler (composer) / Lavinia Murray (playwright) / Kate Lane (designer/scenographer) / Valentina Ceschi (director)
Another great review on scenekunst.no!
Sebastian Wemmerløv has reviewed Graatarslagjet på scenekunst.no:
«On one hand, it was possible to interpret the piece as descriptive and programmatic, with sounds of the inhospitable wind over the frozen water, the cries of a human or an animal, and the coughing and wheezing of drowning people or ghostly spirits. On the other hand, it could just as easily be perceived as a disinterested nature, completely detached from a descriptive or empathetic human perspective. The sound of the Hardanger fiddle subtly wove itself into the vocal textures with delicate and gentle overtones and harmonics, sensitively played by Britt Pernille Frøholm. Long, delicate, and aching tonal landscapes were occasionally interrupted by subtle yet sometimes forceful vocal gestures.
It was also striking how the relationship between time and timelessness almost dissolved. Densifications and intensifications of textures and gestures, as if something wanted to break through, gave a sense of linear, dramaturgical development over time. At the same time, it also felt as if the piece unfolded outside of time, where the physical and the ethereal, presence and absence, event and non-event coexisted simultaneously in a long, frozen moment.»
Songbook of Breast – under development
Live art theatre.
The project is centring around western society’s unarticulated relationship with the women’s breast, through research about the female breast in literature, art, politics, history, popular culture and through transcriptions of interviews with women who have had cosmetic and medical based breast surgery.
Song Circus (ensemble) / Laura Bowler (komponist) / Lavinia Murray (dramatiker) / Kate Lane (designer / scenograf) / Valentina Ceschi (regissør)
«FUGLER»
I vår og i sommer har jeg jobbet med et vakkert, lite prosjekt inspirert av fuglelivet på fem steder i Rogaland. Over en periode på fire uker har jeg gjort opptak, og med utgangspunkt i disse utviklet verket «Fugler». Musikken er skapt i samarbeid med Song Circus, Britt Pernille Frøholm (fele) og Odd Børge Sagland (perkusjon). Fugler fremføres som et konsertverk, i samarbeid med fortellerkunster Marianne Stenerud skapes et musikalsk fugleeventyr, i samarbeid med Hinterland skapes en kortfilm, og sammen med Nina Elisabeth Børke skapes et visuelt kunstverk, et lydlig kartsystem. Sondre Oldereide Michaelsen lager en kort doku om prosjektet.
Lydutdrag:
Song Circus, Laura Bowler and Kate Lane in residence
Song Circus are developing a fascinating new project, together with Laura Bowler, Lavinia Murray and Kate Land (UK) and cultural studies researcher Birgitta Haga Gripsrud (NO).
Together we are looking at the (un)articulated breast; through literature, history, art, religion, politics, psychology, popular culture, feminism, and social antropology.
The project will have shape as a music installation / music theatre and will be premièred in autumn 2018.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL FRIENDS!
Christmas Meditations in Bispekapellet, Stavanger:
Classical:NEXT
We just discovered this live recording from our concert at Classical:NEXT this year. Enjoy!
And here our short film Anatomy of Sound:
The video is available in different formats and can be customized for screening. The music is originally recorded and produced in Auro 3D.
Contact for screening: Song Circus / Liv Runesdatter – liv@songcircus.no
Concept & idea: Liv Runesdatter and Maja Friis
Film director: Maja Friis
All sound performed by Song Circus (www.songcircus.no)
Music composed by: Ruben Sverre Gjertsen
Sound production: 2L / Lindberg Lyd (Morten Lindberg and Jørn Simenstad)
Producer: Liv Runesdatter
Cinematographer: Anders Nydam
Visual consultant: Lys og Trolddom / Rasmus Møbius
SONG CIRCUS
Artistic director: Liv Runesdatter
Vocalists: Stine Janvin Motland, Anita Kaasbøll, Liv Runesdatter, Eva Bjerga Haugen and Maria Norseth Garli
Conductor: Jonas Rogne Skartveit
Logo design: Werksemd / Nina Elisabeth Børke
NUTIDA MUSIK – Song Circus review!
HOORAY!
This time, it’s the Swedish publication Nutida Musik reviewing our album:
5 of 5 stars in The Scotsman!
Five of five stars in The Scotsman!
“the three ensembles closed with a blisteringly visceral account of the budgeoning dissonances of Louis Andriessen’s notorious De Staat. It proved a fittingly powerful, provocative and confident, internationally focused conclusion to sound’s thrillingly ambitious weekend.”
http://www.scotsman.com/…/music-review-sound-festival-aberd…
Song Circus Live at CLASSICAL:NEXT
Vi kom over dette konsertopptaket i dag, fra Song Circus sin konsert under Classical:NEXT i Rotterdam i mai. Vel bekomme!
Og her filmen Anatomy of Sound, som jeg laget sammen med regissør Maja Friis (DK):
The video is available in different formats and can be customized for screening.
The music is originally recorded and produced in Auro 3D.
Contact for screening: Song Circus / Liv Runesdatter – liv@songcircus.no
Concept & idea: Liv Runesdatter and Maja Friis
Film director: Maja Friis
All sound performed by Song Circus (www.songcircus.no)
Music composed by: Ruben Sverre Gjertsen
Sound production: 2L / Lindberg Lyd (Morten Lindberg and Jørn Simenstad)
Producer: Liv Runesdatter
Cinematographer: Anders Nydam
Visual consultant: Lys og Trolddom / Rasmus Møbius
SONG CIRCUS
Artistic director: Liv Runesdatter
Vocalists: Stine Janvin Motland, Anita Kaasbøll, Liv Runesdatter, Eva Bjerga Haugen and Maria Norseth Garli
Conductor: Jonas Rogne Skartveit
Logo design: Werksemd / Nina Elisabeth Børke