The oasis of poetry: The sound of Prussia
With new compositions and fresh interpretations of well-known texts, some of the country's finest jazz musicians and the award-winning vocalist Frida Ånnevik shine a new light on Alf Prøysen.
Alf Prøysen has for many years held a very special and deserved position with most Norwegians. In 2014 it was 100 years since he was born, and that led to a number of anniversary events and renewed attention to his lyrics. New generations of artists looked at Prøysen's work with new curiosity and with a fresh slant, and many showed us that Prøysen's literary universe is much more nuanced and multifaceted than many have thought. The Prussian shows us existence in all its changing forms, often viewed from the bottom of the social hierarchy. Seemingly simple verse texts with idyll on the surface can convey insights and truths that can be anything but idyllic.
The pianist and composer Helge Lien, the bassist Sigurd Hole and the vocalist Frida Ånnevik has made solid contributions to this newly interpreted Prøysen renaissance. They all have a closeness to Prøysen in the first place. Lien and Ånnevik almost grew up in Prøysen's neighbourhood, and Hole from Rendalen had Prøysen as a great-uncle. They all have good prerequisites for interpreting Prøysen. And they did that with great success with the concert 'Lyden av Prøysen', a commission from the Musikk i Hedmark foundation, in the Hamar cultural center in August 2014. Now Helge Lien has tailored a scaled-down and somewhat reworked version of this project so that it fits in at Energimølla and the festival's poetry oasis.
Actors on Lyden av Prøysen:
Frida Ånnevik – vocals
Helge Lien – piano, compositions, arrangements
Sigurd Hole – bass, arrangement
Rolf-Erik Nystrøm – saxophone
Håvard Lund – bass clarinet
Knut Aalefjær – drum
