Henrik Hellstenius: Places of Sounds and Words

What is the nature of the relationship between music and the wider reality that it exists within? Does art imitate life, or can life imitate art? Can the two meaningfully coexist? When a sound is taken from the real world and placed into a musical context, does it mean the same thing? Where does meaning come from, and how do we decide what a sound means? Henrik Hellstenius first began investigating these questions in 2007, with Places of Sound, a work composed for a choreographed performance at the Norwegian Opera and Ballet, that combined two singers, strings and sounds from the real world. Some years later, Hellstenius returned to this, exploring in more depth what he refers to as a "polyphony of signs", bringing together the worlds of composed and found sounds and investigating their impact and effect on each other. On this recording he presents three works: Places of Sounds and Words for Soprano, Ensemble and Electronics, Unfolded for Piano Trio, and Instrument of Speech for Ensemble and Electronics. Participating musicians are soprano Elisabeth Holmertz, and the ensembles Cikada and asamisimasa.