Nils Petter Molvær & Norwegian Radio Orchestra Certainty of Tide

Out on 6 October, the music for Certainty of Tides was initially recorded with the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra with Nils Petter Molvaer as a soloist in 2020. He had asked several wonderful Norwegian composers to arrange a set of music from his back catalogue. “Have a listen to the recordings I did with the orchestra and tell me what you think” he told Norwegian composer, musician, and producer Jan Bang. Since the original recording was close mic’ed for broadcasting purposes, Bang saw an unfulfilled potential in the material due to lack of space in the initial recordings. Bang came up with the idea of re-amping the mixes playing the music through speakers in a concert house followed by re-recording of the result through distant microphones. With 76 speakers (one per instrument) carefully placed exactly like the orchestra would have been seated onstage, Certainty of Tides was recorded from microphones strategically placed in the large hall of Kilden Concert House with phenomenal acoustics.

The French/Martinique percussionist Mino Cinelu and the Norwegian trumpet-player Nils Petter Molvaer got together for an outstanding piece of music.They were reflecting their roots: Sula is the island from which Molvær stems, Madiana is a synonym for Martinique, where Cinelu’s father comes from. “SulaMadiana” combines all which is perceived as trusted, familiar, and achieved, with a notion of sounds beyond the horizon: glittering, shimmering, and always promising.

A reduction in personnel rarely results in a broader musical expanse, but that's just what happened to Food, since trumpeter Arve Henriksen and bassist Mats Eilertsen departed in 2004. Molecular Gastronomy (Rune Grammofon, 2008)—Food's first duo recording, though the use of guests fleshed the group out to a trio—was Food's most accessible album to date, without sacrificing any of its inherent risk and sound of surprise. Quiet Inlet—Food's first for ECM, and featuring Austrian guitarist Christian Fennesz on three tracks and Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer on four—follows Molecular Gastronomy's path, but remains equally traceable to earlier albums, including Food's quartet swan song, The Last Supper (Rune Grammofon, 2005). Even as a duo, Food generates a lot of sound. Strønen, in particular, combines bastardized drum kit, hand percussion and technology into a distinctive soundscaping approach, from pulse-driven to textural; spatially ethereal to jagged and dense. Ballamy's more economical playing is equally key in establishing a group sound, and based on its performance at Punkt 2006, Food could easily have continued on as a duo, but increases the unpredictability quotient by introducing a third player to the set.

In 'Songs from the Planet of Life,' composer Helge Iberg uses poems of the taoist tradition to shed light on the ecological situation. An impressive handful of soloists come together with The Norwegian Radio Orchestra for this touching musical reflection on the present state of the planet and humankind. Norway's biggest newspaper Aftenposten, describes the work as "Heavenly! Iberg's concept gave us a night we will never forget!" An all-night Concerto Grosso for five soloists, narrator and symphony orchestra; extensive, grand-scale and correspondingly powerful a new Das Lied von der Erde inspired by Gustav Mahler's iconic art piece. The piece consists of 9 movements. Vocal artist Sidsel Endresen narrates the poems together with LiuTiegang, actor and leader of The National Theater of China in Beijing. Elise Batnes's interpretation of Tale of Sorrowful Song is outstanding. Christian Ihle Hadland's piano-playing is equally poignant in Lotus Dance, while Marianne Beate Kielland and Frank Havroy spellbind us in Long Autumn Night contrasted by Tom Ottar Andreassen's alto flute, all safely guided by conductor Kai Grinde Myrann.

Mozart composed his last three symphonies (Nos. 39-41) in the space of six weeks during the summer of 1788, at a time when he had sunk into poverty, regularly borrowing money from his friend Michael Puchberg and pawning household items. In recent years he had been organising many concerts in Vienna and was equally in demand as a teacher. Then, in Prague, he had enjoyed the tremendous acclaim of his Marriage of Figaro (1786) and Don Giovanni (1787). Now, however, he struggled to find subscribers for the publication of three string quintets and faced what seemed to be the end of his Viennese concerts.

Trace of Lament features 5 new compositions for Cello and Orchestra by Gaute Storaas, Henrik Skram and Ginge Anvik. The album from Lawo Classics features cellist Audun Sandvik, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra conducted by Thomas Klug and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Per Kristian Skalstad.

"The Caminos del Inca, or Inca Trails, is a road network that traverses South America connecting lands and peoples. The area's musical traditions are ancient and varied, taking in indigenous sounds as well as European influences, and the composers represented on this album have all been inspired by this musical legacy, the people of their homeland, and the land itself. The interconnections include late-Romanticism, folkloric dances, reinterpretation of popular music, mestizo ('hybrid') elements, Stravinsky-like primitivism, and music of simplicity and beauty that both captures and celebrates village life."