Jóhann Jóhannsson - Orphée (2016) [Official Digital Download 24/48]

Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-, BAFTA- and Grammy-nominated composer Jóhann Jóhannsson’s first album for Deutsche Grammophon is a meditation on beauty and the process of creation.

Orphée traces a path from darkness into light, inspired by the various re-tellings of the ancient tale of the poet Orpheus, from Ovid’s to Jean Cocteau’s. A many-layered story about death, rebirth, change and the ephemeral nature of memory, the myth can also be read as a metaphor for artistic creation, dealing with the elusive nature of beauty and its relationship to the artist, as well as the idea that art is created through transgression – by the poet defying the gods who have forbidden him to turn back towards his beloved as he leaves the Underworld.

Orphée’s sonic palette is varied, combining acoustic instruments both solo and in ensemble with electronics and the mesmeric sounds of shortwave radio “numbers stations”. It draws on many facets of his previous albums, incorporating music for solo cello, organ, string quartet, string orchestra and unaccompanied voices.

Orphée shows the full range of the Icelandic composer’s remarkable invention and uncanny feeling for atmosphere. The music of the entire album is tied together structurally by recurring harmonic and melodic elements, yet each track sounds fresh, evocative and unique. Orphée reconciles ambitious orchestral and vocal writing with influences ranging from the Baroque to minimalism and electronic music. Also influenced by film composers Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone and Michael Nyman (all prolific writers, like Jóhann himself, of concert music as well as film scores), Jóhannsson is a contemporary exponent of a tradition that was shaped by composers such as Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Walton or Korngold.

“Orphée is for me about changes: about moving to a new city, leaving behind an old life in Copenhagen and building a new one in Berlin – about the death of old relationships and the birth of new ones,” explains Jóhann. “Perhaps this is one of the reasons I was drawn to the Orpheus myth, which is fundamentally about change, mutability, death, rebirth, the elusive nature of beauty and its sometimes thorny relation to the artist. This album, my first solo record for six years, is an oblique reflection on personal change.”

Orphée is a haunting and atmospheric musical journey, crowned by the sublime Orphic Hymn – a setting of Ovid’s text performed by Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices. The album is a reflection on change, memory, beauty and art, and ultimately celebrates the latter’s power of renewal, while acknowledging the dark paths along which it can lead the artist. “Making Orphée has been a true labour of love, one that has been a part of my life for six years, and yet the music always remained fresh – it was constantly in a state of flux and renewal,” its composer conclude.

A remarkable talent” (Drowned In Sound)

“A composer at the height of his exquisite powers” (Mojo)

“Wowing listeners with his unique blend of subtle electronics and epic orchestral flourishes” (FACT)

“His stirring use of silence and aching melodies [is] entrancing” (The New Yorker)

Tracklist:
01. Jóhannsson: Flight From The City
02. Jóhannsson: A Song For Europa
03. Jóhannsson: The Drowned World
04. Jóhannsson: A Deal With Chaos
05. Jóhannsson: A Pile Of Dust
06. Jóhannsson: A Sparrow Alighted Upon Our Shoulder
07. Jóhannsson: Fragment I
08. Jóhannsson: By The Roes, And By The Hinds Of The Field
09. Jóhannsson: The Radiant City
10. Jóhannsson: Fragment II
11. Jóhannsson: The Burning Mountain
12. Jóhannsson: De Luce Et Umbra
13. Jóhannsson: Good Morning, Midnight
14. Jóhannsson: Good Night, Day
15. Jóhannsson: Orphic Hymn

Personnel:
Jóhann Jóhannsson, piano, electronics, pipe organ, electric organs
Hildur Guðnadóttir, cello
American Contemporary Music Ensemble:
Yuki Numata Resnick, violin
Caleb Burhans, violin
Ben Russell, viola
Clarice Jensen, cello
AIR Lyndhurst string orchestra & Anthony Weeden, conductor
Theatre of Voices & Paul Hillier, conductor
Else Torp, soprano
Signe Asmussen, mezzo-soprano
Ellen Marie Brink Christensen, mezzo-soprano
Elenor Wiman, mezzo-soprano
Kristin Mulders, mezzo-soprano
Chris Watson, tenor
Paul Bentley-Angell, tenor
Jakob Bloch Jespersen, bass-baritone
Jakob Soelberg, bass-baritone