The Phenomenology of Listening

All four compositions of Ørenslyd are developed from an exploration of acoustic and vocal sound formation and the active participation of our listening ability in this formation. The four pieces represent different manifestations of the tonal expression of the human voice and the acoustic richness of the double bass. Ørenslyd (from “øre”, ear, and “lyd”, sound) means “the opportunity to hear something being said or to be heard yourself”.

The pieces on Ørenslyd were composed in 2019 as part of a cooperation with the Humboldt University in Berlin, where they were first performed on 26 October 2019. All the works are written for and performed by Tone Elisabeth Braaten, soprano, Ebba Rydh, mezzo-soprano, Per Kristian Amundrød, tenor, and Håkon Thelin, double bass. Their ability for nuanced vocal and instrumental articulation forms the very basis for the sounding result of these four compositions.

Edvin Østergaard is a composer and professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. As a composer, he has mainly written for chamber ensembles and choirs. As a researcher, he is, among other things, concerned with sound and listening as a phenomenological experience, as well as the interplay between art, science and aesthetic learning. In 2010 he received Norway’s Grammy Award, the Spellemann Prize, for his album Die 7. Himmelsrichtung (LWC 1014).

Tone Elisabeth Braaten, Soprano
Ebba Rydh, Mezzo-Soprano
Per Kristian Amundrød, Tenor
Håkon Thelin, Double Bass