Rebekka Karijord - Music for Film and Theatre

  by Lisa Torem

published: 25 / 1 / 2014

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Review

Rebecca Karijold’s 'We Become Ourselves' was a touching and imaginative album, made of stand-alone original tracks. But the Norwegian-born composer, now living in Sweden, also loves to experiment and create for special projects. Here on 'Music for Film and Theatre', she has recorded six years worth of ambient pieces crafted for films, plays and dance performances, Karijold clarifies the purpose of the fifteen-track project: “They’re an attempt to get away from the melody driven formula.” That said, the album may be more valuable to the budding composer than the average listener, still - it is a project that illustrates her genuine love for strings and self-expression. ‘Prologue’ opens the CD and after reaching a cloudy crescendo gets renewed by startling jangles. 'Madrigal', so soft and serene, barely rises above a whisper, a contrast to the churning, scorching strings – like a blade across a frosty window – of ‘Sno’. Can music be tranquil, yet disarming? ‘Salhus’ drives the point home. Then imagine Scarlatti and Gillespie meeting in the great beyond. That image will prepare you for ‘Lullaby’. What starts as a rather nondescript choral piece blossoms into a moving, minimalist soundscape in ‘Apathetic Children’. In and out of consciousness goes ‘I’ve Always Been Jealous of Migrating Birds’. More choral cacophony echoes in ‘Morula’ – still more in ‘Nowhere Home’, accentuated by Arvo Part’s lush strings. But ‘Waltz for Norma’ is pure elegance, only on par with ‘Anchor Boy,’ on which Karijord portrays sheer innocence, optimum range and fragile ornamentation. ‘Jag Ser Dig’ is more turbulent and bottom heavy, ‘Kjaere Gud Jeg Har Det Godt’ is a dissonant chant whilst ‘The End’ is essentially an a capella spiritual sans text. The finale, ‘Epilogue’ is space-aged, halting and freeing. It’s a lovely piece of work by an outstanding artist whose observations translate exceedingly well to the sonic medium.

Track Listing:-

1 Prologue
2 Madrigal
3 Snö
4 Salhus
5 Lullaby
6 Apathetic Children
7 "I´ve Always Been Jealous of Migr
8 Morula
9 Nowhere Home
10 Waltz for Norma
11 Jag Ser Dig
12 Kjaere Gud Jeg Har Det Godt
13 The End
14 Anchor Boy
15 Epilogue

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/RebekkaKarijo
http://rebekkakarijord.com/
https://twitter.com/rebekkakarijord
https://instagram.com/rebekkakarijord

Label Links:-

http://cfkrecords.com/
https://twitter.com/CFKRECORDS