Idea:
Benedicte Maurseth
Composition:
Benedicte Maurseth / Sarah-Jane Summers
Performers:
Benedicte Maurseth (Hardanger Fiddle, Vocal)
Sarah-Jane Summers (Hardanger Fiddle, Violin)
Scenografi/Light Design: Randiane Sandboe
Commisioned by Voss Jazz Festival
Máni, premiere April 9. 2022 at Voss Jazz Festival
Foto: Øystein Haara
Benedicte Maurseth / Sarah-Jane Summers //
MÁNI
The well-established fiddle players Benedicte Maurseth & Sarah-Jane Summers collaborate for the first time in the new work, Máni, for Hardanger fiddle and violin.
Both are well known for their deep roots in the Scottish and Norwegian folk music traditions, as well as for their creative and exploratory approach.
As folk musicians have always done, Maurseth and Summers are open to the current times, and draw impulses from other forms of art and music, in particular jazz, world, Baroque and contemporary music.
Sonorous exploration and the power of repetition form the core of this new work, Máni, which is the Norse word for moon. The Hardanger fiddle's rich palette comes strikingly to the fore, contrasting powerfully with the violin's direct form of speech. Rhythm and repetitive phrases evoke associations with traditional Norwegian gangar and springar, as well as Scottish slow airs, American minimalism, and free improvised music. Máni is also a collaboration with light artist Randiane Sandboe.
Máni is dedicated to the moon's repeated gravitational force, its eternal circle, like a meditation, a ritual, in the form of pulse, rhythm and phrases.
Premiere April 9, 2022 at Vossajazz.
Then it was time for a new commissioned work and, after a short walk through new streets in Voss, we found a wonderful concert venue, the church, Nain. Great for acoustic music (just the sound of the door being opened and closed was lovely), and also full to the very last seat. The stage was located in the middle of the large, white room with high ceilings, with the audience placed in a circle around, with light design by Randiane Sandboe that created a sparkling atmosphere. It was Benedicte Maurseth on Hardanger fiddle and Sarah-Jane Summers on fiddle, in a work that condensed intensity and beauty, in a captivating meeting between Norwegian and Scottish folk music traditions. "Máni" takes its name from the Norse name for 'moon', and in combination with the scenography and the circular contemporary music orientation of the material, inspired by the moon's gravitational force and mysterious aura, this became a hypnotic experience - one of the big highlights at this year's festival."
– Audun Vinger, Jazz i Norge
