In the wisdom tradition of the Australian Aborigines, it was not based on four, but seven points of the compass. In addition to the four known to us, they also distinguished an upward, downward and inward wind direction. The latter leads to the inner world, a kind of inner landscape that must provide solid ground for the turbulent and capricious outer world around us. The Norwegian composer Edvin
… Østergaard (1959) not only took this as a starting point for the work of the same name on this CD, but also serves as an overarching factor for all works performed here. The meditative and the introspective element play a major role in this. Each of the four compositions represents such an inner landscape full of ritual imagination. In Die 7. Himmelsrichtung for soprano, for example, viola and cello is the ever-varied repetition of small motifs to an enchanting sound mosaic, while in In Ab - Overtune Music For Cello the cellist lets his instrument 'sing' like an oriental overtone singer. All works performed here were written for soprano Siri Torjesen, violinist Morten Carlsen and cellist hans Josef Groh, who also perform them. (JWvR)more
