Benedicte Maurseth
The Hardanger is closely associated with different dance traditions in Norway, but even in its dance tunes it betrays a a brooding, dark underside and this is further explored in the tradition of lyarslåtter, or listening tunes, which are more introspective in character. Maurseth's playing seems to draw particularly from that style of playing, evident in one of the few fiddle-led pieces, “Kalven reise seg” (“the calf rises up”.) Lyarslåtter sometimes make direct reference to nature, imitating bird-song for example, but the playing here sounds perhaps closer to the idea of a Sami joik, in which the voice addresses nature, seeking to become part of it, rather than trying to make a copy.
“Sommarbeite” (summer grazing) is one of the more rhythmic items here, set to a minimalist repeated figure which, surprisingly, seems to give a nod in the direction of Terry Riley's “Rainbow in Curved Air.” Above the interweaving repetition, seemingly played on keyboards and synths, Maurseth improvises longer melodic lines on her fiddle. The wider animal kingdom is less in evidence here, but it returns in force on “Nysnø over reinlav” (“new snow over reindeer lichen”) which includes contributions from an arctic fox, a wolverine and a range of different birds. It ends with a few moments of solo grunting.
Benedicte Maurseth has written about her engagement with the notion of ecosophy, “the view that humans are part of an ecological system that is interdependent with nature, and that all of life and all of nature's rich diversity have equal value.” With this as the driving force in her explorations, she sees Mirra as being a continuation of Hárr (her 2022 album which received many plaudits internationally) but “this time with the reindeer taking center stage”. It certainly feels as if here she has taken herself even further out of the spotlight. The fiddle comes and goes, played beautifully, but it is as if it represents Maurseth watching from the sidelines, looking out at a vast landscape in awe. A humble standpoint, yet the concept is an original one and one that is becoming unmistakably hers.
I find the process an artist takes to get to a final work is always enlightening. Here is a video recorded in Prague in November of 2023, with a very different sound from the album, that was the early stage of what was to become Mirra. - CF
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