NORWEGIAN SAFARI

Music for Accordion by Håkon Berge, Antonio Bibalo, Wolfgang Plagge, Erlend Skovsvoll etc.

1. Håkon Berge: Girlander

2. Antonio Bibalo: Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia

3. Wolfgang Plagge: Fractals

4. Erlend Skomsvoll: Stykke for trekkspill

5. Terje Bjørklund: Meditatio

6. Sigmund Lillebjerka: Dazzle Dance

Oivind Farmen (accordion), Elise Batnes (violin)

As a portable version of the piano, the modern accordion is an instrument with a broad spectrum of references, both musical and social, and has an important place in today’s music scene. The range of styles represented in this collection of pieces by contemporary composers reflects this. The soloist is the award winning instrumentalist Øivind Farmen.

The CD begins with Håkon Berges Girlander (Garland). In this piece the musical phrases twist outwards in repeated circular movements. The circle is also present as a feature of the harmony. A similar idea can be heard in Wolfgang Plagge’s Fractals. Plagge conducts a dialogue between pedal notes and light echo effects, which creates a composed resonance on the instrument. Antonio Bibalo’s Sonata quasi una fantasia is the longest piece on the disc, and is a narrative with many layers, unfolding in a way that testifies to the composer’s experience of music theatre. In Erlend Skomsvoll’s Piece for Accordion the

composer allows the musical form to move forward organically, with frequent use of unexpected harmonic building blocks. Meditatio by Terje Bjørklund is a piece that has a lyrical style and an atmosphere akin to film music. Finally Sigmund Lillebjerka brings us back to a folky, playful idiom with his Dazzle Dance.

Aurora ACD5064