Song Circus reviewed in 5against4
Our Ultima concert was recently reviewed by Simon Cummings on 5against4.com!
«a performance that simply beggared belief, impossible to grasp its intricacies, leaving one simply to surrender to its inscrutable marvels, lost in a reverie of bowed, blown, pitched and aspirated friction.’
‘So complete was this impression that it didn’t remotely feel as if Soar II had actually finished, but was simply continuing on, imperceptibly, into eternity.’
http://5against4.com/2021/10/04/ultima-2021-part-3/
Song Circus & Ananda Serné
10. september – 3. oktober 2021 utstilles «slow-wave» på Bryne Kunstforening!
For slow-wave, Ananda Serné collaborated with vocal ensemble Song Circus on a 4-channel sound installation. Spread across the room, different voices mimic the sound of water and pronounce water onomatopoeia such as: bloop, splish, splash, sprinkle, drip, drup, drizzle, dryss, drypp and spray. The work refers to soundscapes that aim to improve sleep quality and trigger ASMR (a tingling sensation on the scalp in response to certain sights, sounds, or textures). «Slow-wave sleep» is the deepest phase of non-rapid eye movement sleep.
The colours of the textiles derive from cyanotype, indigo and a blue light-harvesting pigment found in cyanobacteria. The cyanobacteria is the simplest organism currently known to have a day- and night rhythm.
The pieces of glass draw from the work of Daphne Oram, the first woman to design and construct an electronic musical instrument. Her Oramics technique consisted of a musical language of painted waveforms that translated into sound.
Concept: Ananda Serné
Composition: Liv Runesdatter
Vocals: Stine Janvin, Liv Runesdatter and Signe Irene Time
Sound recording: Eirik Bekkeheien
Image credit: Erik Sæter Jørgensen
Song Circus in Egersound
Stine Janvin Motland, Liv Runesdatter, Signe Irene Stangborli Time og Eirik Bekkeheien.
Song Circus and Leçons des ténèbres
French Baroque rehearsal in 2021! Liv Runesdatter, Signe Irene Stangborli Time, Ingeborg Dalheim, Stine Janvin Motland
Song Circus in September
In September, Song Circus performed two new projects. At the Kapittel Festival, we explored the music of Cornelius Cardew, and at the Norwegian Organ Festival, we premiered Sonic Meditations, a collaboration with organist Nils Henrik Asheim and Britt Pernille Frøholm on the Hardanger fiddle.
We delved into an iconic work by one of the most influential postwar composers, Pauline Oliveros (1932–2016), Horse Sings from Cloud.
Throughout more than 50 years of artistic work, Pauline Oliveros established herself as one of the most influential composers of the postwar period. Her electronic music and theories on sound, silence, and listening (‘Deep Listening’) have garnered particular attention. She was an early adopter of unconventional instruments in her electroacoustic experiments. Alongside her work as a performer and composer, she held numerous teaching roles and professorships in academic circles. Oliveros was the founder of the former Deep Listening Institute, now the Center for Deep Listening. Deep Listening means being attentive to all aspects of the world, not just sounds as we typically define them, where sound waves reach the ear. It involves listening to your inner self and everything around you.
SONG CIRCUS – FUGLER / BIRDS
I mai og juni, midt i korona-epidemien, gjennomførte Song Circus drøyt 20 konserter ute i naturen, med dette nydelige prosjektet! «Fugler» er en sanselig og fantasifull forestilling utviklet av Liv Runesdatter, i samarbeid med Song Circus fortellerkunstner Marianne Stenerud.
Song Circus at «Kompodissene»
Composers Therese Birkelund Ulvo and Bente Leiknes Thorsen recap their autumn in this podcast episode. It’s an enjoyable listening experience. You’ll hear about Therese’s work on Absence, one of the pieces we performed during the tours with Graatarslagjet. The works in Graatarslagjet are evolving and still in the process of being shaped.
Birds
Here is a translation of the text:
Here you can catch a glimpse of moments from this fall’s «Fugler» – a sensory and imaginative performance inspired by the birdlife around us. A collaboration with Song Circus and storyteller Marianne Stenerud.
This year, we will be performing at Oslo Fortellerfestival and Fossekleiva Kultursenter, among others. In collaboration with Stavanger DKS, I am leading a 6-week interdisciplinary art project this spring focused on the theme of birds, in partnership with the staff and students of Storhaug School, dance artist and PhD student Maria Flønes, visual artist Tove Kommedal, Song Circus, and others.
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
BIRD FESTIVAL AT OGNA NOVEMBER 23RD AND 24TH!
Jippi! Our bird festival starts in one week!
It is the first collaboration between Song Circus, Stavanger Kitchen Orchestra and Ogna Scene. Saturday is most suitable for youth and adults, while Sunday is The Children’s Birdfestival. Have a listen to Song Circus´ bird univers!
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.
Graatarslagjet – review by http://5against4.com!
Grateful 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.»
New lovely «Graatarslagjet» review!
Sebastian Wemmerløv has reviewed Graatarslagjet on scenekunst.no:
«On the one hand it was possible to perceive the work as descriptive and programmatic, with the sound of the inhospitable wind over the icy water, the screams of a human or animal and the coughing and listening sound of drowning people or ghostly spirits On the other hand, it could just as well be a disinterested nature we heard, completely detached from a descriptive or empowering human gaze. The sound of the hardening sound subtly weaved into the vocal sounds with gentle and gentle overtones and flake notes, responsive played by Britt Pernille Frøholm, elongated, cautious and searing tones were broken by sometimes subtle and sometimes violent vocal gestures.
It was also striking how the relationship between time and timelessness was almost blurred. Condensations and intensifications of textures and gestures, as if something would break out, gave a sense of linear, dramaturgical evolution in time. At the same time, it was also as if the work took place outside of time, where the bodily and extraterrestrial, presence and absence, event and non-event existed simultaneously in a long frozen moment. «
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.»