The season of the Lent may be over this over but the Swedish trio of guitarist Andreas Runeson, organist Leif Johansson and soprano Ellen Vingren insists that the spirit of these observant days keep on. Runeson, the co-founder of the Compunctio label, gained «a renewed understanding» of this season more than ten years ago, allowing him to uncover «a ‘timbre’ otherwise hidden by the white noise of the everyday life».
This kind of «timbre» became a short cycle of instrumental music that emerged over a period of decade. Later this cycle of music was intertwined with chorales from Johann Sebastian Bach’s iconic St Matthew Passion (BWW 244) matched with new texts by poet Ylva Eggehorn (who already worked on a greater collection of texts written for the chorales in the St Matthew Passion), and new arrangements that were done with Johansson.
There is no need to be observant Christian, religious, or to understand the poetic texts in Swedish in order to enjoy this chamber, contemplative and beautiful new music together with untimely, three chorales sung majestically by vocalist-theologian Vingren.
Eyal Hareuveni
Andreas Runeson (g), Leif Johansson (org), Ellen Vingren (v)
