And has this incredibly austere gorgeous scenery, and parts of it is tundra. And close to there is a beautiful mountain plateau called a Hardangervidda which is the largest mountain plateau in northern Europe. And my father is from Gjeilo, a beautiful ski resort town between Oslo and Bergen. I grew up there and lived there till I was 23 before I moved to the States. When I was commissioned to write 'Tundra,' I wanted to write something that reflected an area of Norway that's close to my heart. 'And he is really unique because he's the only kind of choral poet that I know of,' Ola says. 'Tundra' is one of those works, and it features lyrics by Ola's favorite poet, Tony Silvestri. Ola Gjeilo also composes music that brings out the incredible beauty of his homeland. I love using the cellos, especially in that piece 'Serenity (Magnum Mysterium)'. He added so much to the recording session that I've never imagined even. He plays like a soloist and I appreciated that. He's also a very special player - I'd never met him before the session and he kind of blew me away. So that's a sound I love and try to use as much as possible.'Д¬ellist Matthew Sharp helps create the soulful, evocative sound in the piece, 'Serenity, (O Magnum Mysterium).' Ola says, 'It's the instrument closest to the human voice and I guess there's a natural infinity there.

And the steadiness it gives to the accompaniment under choir and strings. I like the reinforcement of having piano and guitar double each other. I have a good friend who'd record a bunch of guitar grooves for me вЂ¦ and that would start me off вЂ¦ one of the best studio guitarists in Norway. 'But in recent years, amplifiers for acoustic guitars have gotten good enough that it can sound nice live, so that's why I wanted to try it. 'Guitar hasn't been used a ton in choral music, partly because if you don't amplify it, it's not a very loud instrument,' Ola says. He also told me his favorite instrument is the guitar, so he added a cool, guitar groove to the piece 'The Lake Isle,' which also features Tenebrae. The Chamber Orchestra of London adds the lush, symphonic textures Ola loves so much.

Two unique British choirs are featured on this new release, Voces8 and Tenebrae. That's why a lot of my favorite composers are film composers I often look for that kind of evocative, lush timbre.'

That sounds bigger than the sum of its parts вЂ¦ that's attractive to me because I love big, symphonic, lush textures. Even just a quartet, really, if you double it certain ways, it can make a very lush, big sound. Piano is a very different timbre from choir, and I think strings kind of bridge that sonic gap and reinforces both. I often feel like adding a string quartet really adds something to that texture. 'So I started writing quite a lot of pieces for choir and piano. 'I always just wanted to play piano with choirs,' he says. What's special about this recording is it offers a portrait of Ola Gjeilo: composer, pianist, and lover of choral music. With the release of his new self-titled recording on Decca, you can experience it for yourself. I wanted to write music that would feel uplifting and meaningful without being sentimental or superficial or manipulative.' That's how Norwegian-born, American composer Ola Gjeilo describes his music. 'I hope that people feel a sense of honesty in my music.

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