Bugge Wesseltoft Last Spring
As the title intimates, "Last Spring" is a revisiting of spring. It is not an exulting, whirling awakening, but a sustained, minimalistic meditation, oriented strongly towards the details, the variance of the melodies, the breadth and beauty of the sound. It is based on the most perfect interaction possible: Wesseltoft's soft piano daubs melt like wax into the pizzicato melodies that Kraggerud entices out of his 1744 Guarneri violin, his Harald Lund viola and his unique six-stringed viola Concorda.
Every ACT Album has it´s own story. Schloss Elmau plays a role in many. This magnificent hotel at the foot of the Bavarien Alps, far removed from everyday life and constantly flooded with culture, has inspired a number of outstanding artists from Gidon Kremer and Brad Mehldau to Esbjörn Svensson. Moreover in recent times several award-winning albums by ACT artists such as Joachim Kühn and Michael Wollny, Gwilym Simcock and Dieter Ilg have been recorded at this unique place. This time it was the launch pad for a new and surprising collaboration, simultaneously building a bridge between Classical and Jazz, and helping many people revisit and resume a long-awaited success story.In early 2011, label owner Siggi Loch attended a concert by the Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud at Schloss Elmau. Afterwards, the two of them got talking, an...
Line up:Bugge Wesseltoft / piano
Henning Kraggerud / violin, viola & viola concorda
Arrangements, compositions and improvisations over traditional themes unless otherwise noted
Recorded by Jan Erik Kongshaug, November 22 & 23, 2011 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, Norway
Mixed and mastered by Jan Erik Kongshaug
Produced by Siggi Loch
Lacquer Disc Cutting by Sydney Claire Meyer at Emil Berliner Studios Berlin
Henning Kraggerud plays a 1744 Guarneri Del Gesu violin owned by Dextra Musica (company owned by Sparebankstiftelsen DNB NOR), a viola by Harald Lund and a viola Concorda (with 6 strings) custom built as only instrument in the world by Ariane Becker
Cover art: “Constable II” by Raimer Jochims, 1999 - 2000
Track List:
- Margit Hjukse ( Traditional)03:42
- Lilja ( Øyonn Groven Myhren)05:08
- Byssan Lull ( Traditional)02:58
- Sæterjentens Søndag ( Ole Bull)04:58
- Maria durch ein Dornwald ging ( Traditional)04:42
- Gjendines Bådnlåt ( Traditional)05:46
- Last Spring ( Edvard Grieg)05:52
- Til Ungdommen ( Mortensen, Otto)03:39
- Blåmann ( Anne Haavie)04:55
- Wiegenlied ( Brahms, Johannes)03:10