Thoreau Journals

I have composed a song cycle for string quartet, piano and vocals based on excerpts from Henry David Thoreau’s Journals. He describes landscapes, flora and fauna and how human beings take liberties with nature, topics that I find highly relevant almost two decades after they were written. 

“But most men, it seems to me, do not care for Nature. They would sell their share in all her beauty, as long as they may live, for a stated sum, – many for a glass of rum” – Henry David Thoreau 1861

The lyrics are both read and sung, setting the framework for the music, which ranges from melodic instrumental parts and songs in the traditional sense, to open soundscapes with improvised elements. The music draws inspiration from impressionism, minimalism, pop and contemporary music, birds and the sounds of the forest, also including field recordings from the wind power industry, that is shaving Norwegian mountains and causing damage to wildlife.

Contributing: 

Heidi Skjerve – vocals, compositions

Rannveig Ryeng: violin

Sunniva Carmen Fossum: violin

Karoline Vik Hegge : viola

Kari Nesdal Sandnes : cello

Finn Magnus Fjell Hjelland: piano 

I’ve teamed up with the pianist Finn Magnus Fjell  Hjelland and the viola player Karoline Vik Hegge who forms the contemporary music duo “DonkeyJam”, and three more string players from Trondheim’s fantastic music scene: Rannveig Ryeng and Sunniva Carmen Fossum on violins, and Kari Nesdal Sandnes on cello. I’m part of the ensemble as a singer myself.

We did a pre-project in June 2021 supported by Trøndelag County Municipality, where during two practice sessions we were able to test out some of the compositions for further processing and recording of audio and video. Photographer and video artist Juliane Schütz has created the promo video, that can be found on Vimeo: