Karin Boye sånger
Benedicte Torget and Øystein Sevåg
Performers:
Benedicte Torger – vocal
Øystein Sevåg – grand piano
Nils Thore Røst – violin I
Magnhild Skomedal Torvanger – violin II
Bendik Foss / Lars Bryngelsson – viola
Hilde Skomedal – cello
Fame’s Orchestra (40 strings)
All music composed by Benedicte Torget and Øystein Sevåg
Karin Boye’s poetry is read all over the world. Boye was a fearless voice, deeply engaged in society. She criticized the surveillance state as early as the 1930s, fought against fascism, loved both women and men, and wrote iconic poems—about love and the human mind. Though she worked as a writer in the 1920s and 30s, her texts remain timeless and strikingly relevant today.
In 2010, the Norwegian singer Benedicte Torget and pianist Øystein Sevåg decided to create a musical work based on Boye’s iconic poetry. They chose to form an ensemble of strings, surrounding Benedicte’s voice and Øystein’s piano.
The project grew through a series of tours with the ensemble, where the music and arrangements were allowed to evolve organically. Many different ideas were tested, some were left behind, and by 2014 the work had been distilled to its very essence. The album was released to glowing reviews and went on to win the prestigious NOPA award for “Album of the Year.”
The music, composed by Øystein Sevåg and Benedicte Torget, expands on the depth of Boye’s poetry, moving fluidly between jazz, neo-baroque, and singer-songwriter traditions.
Full album credits
Recorded at Siddhartha Studios and Rainbow Studio, Oslo, Norway 2011-2014.
Recording enigineer at Rainbow Studio, Jan Erik Kongshaug
Recording and mixing engineer at Siddhartha Studio: Øystein Sevåg
Front cover photo: Tine Poppe
Artwork: Rune Mortensen
Produced by Øystein Sevåg and Benedicte Torget.
Recording session in Rainbow studio, Oslo. From left: Bendik Foss, Hilde Skomedal, Øystein Sevåg, Benedicte Torget, Magnhild Skomedal Torvanger and Nils Thore Røst
Concert in Tøyenkirken, Oslo.
Reviews
“Benedicte Torgets vakre, distinkte stemme betoner hvert ord krystallklart og følsomt, mens musikkens melodiske skjønnhet gir ordene forsterket betydning. …et kjærlighetsmøte mellom tre kunstnere…”
– Svein Andersen om “Karin Boye sånger” Aftenposten
“…vakkert, mektig (…) eit dobbeltalbum som må vere gåvepakka denne hausten, til alle med godhug for den store svenske kjærleikspoeten Karin Boye.”
– Roald Helgheim, Dagsavisen
“…det låter fantastiskt om Boyemusiken!!!
Det känns som om ni verkligen ställt er i samma rum som orden,
härligt…”
– Eva Dahlgren, artist
“…et storverk bortenfor sjangre (…) Torget og Sevåg har skrevet seg inn i hirstoriebøkene.”
– Tor Hammerø