Norwegian Hardanger fiddle player-composer Erlend Apneseth was commissioned to compose a work for Oslo World and Riksscenen in 2023. The commissioned work, Song over Støv (song over Dust), for an all-star eleven-musician ensemble, including sax player Rolf-Erik Nystrøm, accordionist Frode Haltli (both of POING trio. Apneseth was a member of Frode Haltli’s Avant Folk), double bass player Mats Eilertsen, keyboard player Anja Lauvdal, drummer Hans Hulbækmo, and Apneseth leading a quartet of Hardanger fiddle players, was recorded at Amper Tone studio in Oslo in August 2024. Lauvdal and Apneseth produced the album. The release concert of the album will be at Vossa Jazz Festival 2025 (April 11.).
Song over Støv expands the themes Apneseth developed on his own Nattsongar (Heilo, 2017), which embraced elements from world music. He was inspired by his childhood vivid and evocative experiences, growing up around the Førde Festival that attracted musicians from all over the world, and when his family took several long journeys, including to places that are now inaccessible due to various conflicts. «The idea that we are, consciously or unconsciously, always relating to what came before, whether it’s childhood or various traditions», Apneseth explains.
The six-movement suite Song over Støv is a timeless, highly melodic musical playground that flows seamlessly and gently through the worlds of traditional Norwegian folk music, jazz, and contemporary music, suggestive images and evocative places. The four Hardanger fiddle players – Apneseth, Rasmus Kjorstad, Helga Myhr, and Selma French Bolstad – anchor the themes with powerful or meditative unison playing, delicate, rhythmic ornamentations, or echoing cleverly the seductive scales of Arabic music on the title piece. This immersive, emotional journey down memory lane ends with «Samdrøm» (Shared Dream) that unites the many musical worlds of Apneseth into a peaceful, compassionate universe.
Eyal Hareuveni
Erlend Apneseth (Hardanger fiddle), Rasmus Kjorstad (Hardanger fiddle, octave fiddle, fiddle, vocals), Helga Myhr (Hardanger fiddle, vocals), Selma French Bolstad (Hardanger fiddle, vocals), Rolf-Erik Nystrøm (saxophones), Henriette Eilertsen (flutes), Mats Eilertsen (double bass), Anja Lauvdal (synthesizer, harmonium), Frode Haltli (accordion), Hans Hulbækmo (drums, percussion), Veslemøy Narvesen (drums, percussion), Espen Reinertsen (saxophone)
