Vocalgruppen HØST udgiver deres debut album (CD og digitalt)
Releaseconcert Marts 19th, at Frølageret, Odense (DK)
Lene Høst (DK)
Liv Vester Larsen (DK)
Maja Aarøe Freese (DK)
Filippa Westerberg (SE)
Et dansk ordsprog siger: “Enhver fugl synger med sit eget næb”. De fleste af sangene på dette album er en hyldest til naturen og livet på Moder Jord. Med inspiration fra fuglefløjten, mundmusik (sang uden ord), folkeeventyr og traditionelle danses rytmer, har HØST udforsket de muligheder, der ligger gemt i sammensmeltningen af deres fire stemmer. HØST håber, at albummet vil inspirere lytteren til at være nysgerrig på kraften i deres egen stemme og turde synge med deres eget næb.
Navnet på vokalgruppen HØST har sin oprindelse i efternavnet til deres stiftende medlem, Lene Høst. Hendes hensigt var at skabe en vokallegeplads dybt forankret i nordisk folkemusik. HØST oversættes til “efterår” på svensk og “høst” på dansk. Sangene på dette album repræsenterer to års sang sammen som en kvartet. Mange af sangene er ”høstet” fra den nordiske ballade- og folkevisetradition og en håndfuld nykomponerede melodier og tekster er opstået undervejs. Al musikken er arrangeret af medlemmer af HØST.
Køb CD her i vores www.folkshop.dk
Stream/download på din digitale tjeneste
A Danish saying goes: “Every bird sings with its own beak”. Most of the songs on this album are a tribute to nature and life on Mother Earth. With inspiration from the whistling of birds, mouth music (singing without words), folk tales and the rhythms of traditional dances, HØST have explored the possibilities hidden within the merging of their four voices. It is their hope that the album will inspire the listener to be curious about the power of their own voice and dare to sing with their own beak.
The name of the vocal group HØST has its origins in the surname of the founding member, Lene Høst. Her intention was to create a vocal playground deeply rooted in Nordic folk music. HØST translates into “autumn” in Swedish and “harvest” in Danish. The songs on this album represent two years of singing together as a quartet. Many of the songs have been “harvested” from the Nordic ballad and folk song tradition and a handful of newly composed melodies and lyrics have sprung up along the way.
All the music has been arranged by members of HØST.
Tracks:
- Ravnen
- Fågelsang
- Vi der valgte regnen
- Dyrin
- Søvnrunerne
- Springdans
- Ack, om ditt blod
- Det er hvidt herude
- Min man
- Vindens violin
- Visdommens ord
- Auld lang syne
Om HØST
Liv Vester Larsen, uddannet violinist fra folkemusikafdelingen og går i øjeblikket på solistprogrammet – Contemporary Creative Artist som violinist, sanger og komponist med sin debutforestilling “Kreativ – uden natur?” kommer i 2021. Liv har spillet i teaterforestillinger som ”Højskolesangbogen” på Kgl. Teater, turnerede i udlandet med Huldrelokkk og Kelpie og i DK spiller hun med Mikael K og Klondyke, Alamente og samarbejder med bl.a. SLØR Visual performance. Denne multitaskende musiker fokuserer på at tænke ud af boksen og være kreativ, udviske grænserne mellem de mange genrer, hun arbejder inden for og stadig holde tro mod sine rødder – og hun elsker dissonanser – at passe lige ind i Høst-universet Tjek hendes podcast ud på www.livvesterlarsen.com, hvor du kan høre hende lave interviews med kunstnere fra hele verden om kreativitet.
Maja Freese er uddannet bachelor i 5-strenget cello fra folkemusikafdelingen på Danmarks Nationalakademi. Hun har for nylig komponeret en sang, der blev indlemmet i 19. udgave af Højskolesangbogen (“Leonoras Morgendigt”), og du kan opleve Maja som sanger, cellist og komponist i trioen Vesselil, en gruppe, der sætter fokus på kvinders historier og trosretninger i gammel tid. folkemusik. Maja spiller også i Vingefang, Barani Duo, Mynsterland og Bianca Nisha blandt andre konstellationer. Hun elsker at kombinere cello og sang, musik med groove og at opstøve glemte gamle sange og vise relevansen og sjælen i det – og det er noget, vi elsker i Høst!
Lene Høst er sangerinde, komponist og underviser. Med rødder i den nordiske folkemusik har hun også udforsket andre genrer og stilarter fra lande som Tanzania, Bulgarien og Brasilien. Lene har en bachelor i folkemusik og en master i rytmisk sang og korledelse. Hendes passion for at kombinere flerstemmig sang med traditionel vokalmusik er inspirationen til mange af hendes musikalske projekter, her blandt trioen Vingefang, koret Roots og nu også Høst. Du kan også opleve Lene i folk/barok-trioen Alamente og det tidlige musikensemble Via Artis Konsort. Hun arbejder også som underviser og koordinator på Danmarks Nationale Akademi i Esbjerg på folkemusikuddannelsen.
Filippa Westerberg er klassisk uddannet cellist med en kandidatgrad fra Danmarks Musikkonservatorium. I øjeblikket går hun på solistprogrammet – Contemporary Creative Artist som cellist, sanger og komponist. Filippa har altid elsket at spille og synge forskellige genrer – mest klassisk, jazz, pop og folkemusik. Hun er blevet set på forskellige musikscener og i Odense symfoniorkester, og du kan i øjeblikket finde hende i forskellige projekter og bands, for eksempel Kaisin og Trio Videungar. Hun har sunget i vokalsammenhænge og kor i forskellige stilarter hele sit liv, især med sin store familie, og nu har hun fået en ny sang-familie i HØST.
About HØST
Liv Vester Larsen, educated violinist from the folk music department and currently attending the soloist program – Contemporary Creative Artist as a violinist, singer and composer with her debut performance “Creative – without nature?” coming up in 2021. Liv has played in theatre productions such as “Højskolesangbogen” at the Kgl. Teater, toured abroad with Huldrelokkk and Kelpie and in DK she plays with Mikael K and Klondyke, Alamente and collaborates with SLØR Visual performance amongst others. This multitasking musician is focusing on thinking out of the box and being creative, blurring the lines between the many genres she works within and still keeping true to her roots – and she loves dissonances – fitting right in to the Høst-universe Check her podcast out at www.livvesterlarsen.com where you can hear her conducting interviews with artists from all over the world about creativity.
Maja Freese has a bachelor degree in 5-stringed cello from the folk music department at the Danish National Acadamy. She has recently composed a song that was incorporated in the 19th edition of Højskolesangbogen (“Leonoras Morgendigt”) and you can experience Maja as a singer, cellist and composer in the trio Vesselil, a group that puts focus on women’s stories and faiths in old folk music. Maja also plays in Vingefang, Barani Duo, Mynsterland and Bianca Nisha among other constellations. She loves to combine cello and song, music with groove and to dust off forgotten old songs and show the relevance and soul of it – and that is something we love in Høst!
Lene Høst is a singer, composer and teacher. With roots in the Nordic folk music she has also explored other genres and styles from countries like Tanzania, Bulgaria and Brazil. Lene has a bachelor degree in folk music and a master in rhythmical singing and choir conducting. Her passion to combine polyphonic singing with traditional vocal music is the inspiration for many of her musical projects, here among the trio Vingefang, the choir Roots and now also Høst. You can also experience Lene in the folk/baroque-trio Alamente and early music ensemble Via Artis Konsort. She is also working as a teacher and coordinator at the Danish National Academy in Esbjerg at the folk music program.
Filippa Westerberg is a classically trained cellist with a master degree from the Danish National Academy of Music. Currently she is attending the soloist program – Contemporary Creative Artist as a cellist, singer and composer. Filippa has always loved to play and sing different genres – mostly classical, jazz, pop and folk music. She has been spotted on various musical scenes and in Odense symphony orchestra and you can currently find her in different projects and bands for example Kaisin and Trio Videungar. She has been singing in vocal settings and choirs in different styles all her life, especially with her big family and now she has a new singing-family in HØST.
About the songs:
RAVNEN Lyrics, music and arrangement: Lene Høst, 2022 This prelude had been building up inside Lene for a while, but the sudden death of a wonderful woman became the catalyst that made it find its own wings. It has become an homage to her soul and her spirit animal: the raven.
FÅGELSÅNG Music and arrangement: Filippa Westerberg, 2021 Imagine yourself standing in the middle of a Scandinavian beech forest, the light playing in the leaves making everything bright green. Then you hear it – the birds – and once you hear it you can’t unhear it. It will only grow into a symphony of spring. This is the inspiration of Fågelsång – the Swedish word for bird song. Here all the members of Høst can unfold their inner bird sounds in their voices and use the freedom of it, both in the written parts and the improvisation.
VI DER VALGTE REGNEN Lyrics: Frank Jæger, 1948 (1926-1977) Music and arrangement: Maja Freese, 2021 “We who chose the rain” is about choosing a path in life and the inevitable consequences those choices will bring about. We cannot avoid bumps and deviations from our chosen path, but we can choose to be joyous of life despite its finitude. Maja composed the melody to Frank Jæger’s existentialist poem with inspiration from Norwegian traditional folk music.
DYRIN Original title: Dýrin víða vakna fá Inspired by the version sung by Þuríður Friðriksdóttir (1887−1954) Lyrics: Sigurður Breiðfjörð (1798−1846) Music: Svein Jóhanneson (1836−1890) and Liv Vester Larsen, 2019 Arrangement: Liv Vester Larsen, 2019 Everything is changeable and malleable in nature. It cannot be controlled. The Icelanders know this and have been singing about it for many generations: how nature can be beautiful and strong at the same time! The interpretation of this extract from Núma rímur is a tribute to Icelandic nature – we should not try to control it, but instead remember to protect it.
SØVNRUNERNE Lyrics: Danish traditional Music: Danish traditional and Lene Høst, 2020 Arrangement: Lene Høst, 2020 In this old medieval ballad a young woman claims that she can sleep with a knight and still be a virgin the next day. When the king’s son comes to test her, she lures him by sewing magical runes into nine bed covers, which makes him sleep for four days instead. When he wakes up and realizes his failure, he tries to bribe her into lying so his reputation won’t be ruined, but she says she’ll mock him when she’s together with other virgins.
SPRINGDANS Original title: Springdans etter Torleif Haugeto Music: Trad. after Torleif Haugeto, (1903-1984) Arrangement: Liv Vester Larsen, 2020 Liv learned this Springdans from the Norwegian Fiddle/Hardanger fiddle player Ånon Egeland who learned it from Torleif Haugeto. Ånon says: “Torleif was so impaired by gout when I learned it from him that he lilted it out instead of playing it on the fiddle. – That would be a good starting point for a vocal quartet!”
ACK, OM DITT BLOD Lyrics: Ulla Holmer, 1969 Music and arrangement: Filippa Westerberg, 2021 When Filippa’s dear grandfather passed away in 2017 there was a poem in the announcement for the funeral. The poem was written half a century ago by her grandmother and described the eternal love the couple had for each other. Filippa was so moved and inspired that she started to write the melody then and there. Years later she finished it in this arrangement for Høst.
DET ER HVIDT HERUDE Lyrics: St. St. Blicher, 1838 (1782-1848) Music: Thomas Laub, 1914 (1852-1927) and Lene Høst, 2021 Arrangement: Lene Høst, 2021 This Danish song about the icy-cold time called “Kyndelmisse”, or Candlemas in English, is known by most Danes. It describes the white layer of snow, the quietness, the many types of birds searching for food, and the longing for spring.
MIN MAN Lyrics: Swedish traditional Music: Swedish traditional and Lene Høst, 2018 Arrangement: Lene Høst, 2018 In this Swedish dance song a woman leads a double life having a husband AND a lover, as well as children with both of them. She sings: “Do you know the man dancing with me? He wears yellow leather pants but my husband’s are green…”
VINDENS VIOLIN Lyrics: Unknown Music and arrangement: Maja Freese, 2021 From the dead of night, a new day of delight arises with the golden light of dawn. The last line says: “Today even the fiddle of the wind resonates in tune with powerful songs.” And out of the morning poem a fresh polska awakes.
VISDOMMENS ORD Lyrics, music and arrangement: Liv Vester Larsen, 2022 We were all born with a voice and must not forget to use it, because we all have an important message to send to the world. It can achieve more than we realize.
AULD LANG SYNE Music: Scottish traditional Lyrics: Robert Burns (1759-1796) Arrangement: Filippa Westerberg, 2020 This song is a farewell song that’s been traditionally used at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve to say goodbye to the old year but also on other occasions to mark an ending. Although this song marks the ending of this album, the members of Høst hope to see you all again.
