Maja S.K. Ratkje: And sing…

Frode Haltli performs as a part of Oslo Sinfonietta in the recording of Maja S.K. Ratkje’s ‘Concerto for Voice (moods IIIb)’. This album interleaves the composer’s own voice as a performer with the ensemble sound of CIKADA and Oslo Sinfonietta. In ‘And sing while thou on pressed flowers dost sleep’ the voice is pre-recorded, and the sound files are played through loudspeakers placed among the musicians. In ‘Concerto for Voice (moods IIIb)’ the composer is performing live a solo part for amplified voice, using much wider dynamics and improvisation. While performing has influenced and inspired Maja S. K. Ratkje’s composing, the opposite is also true – even though it’s too simple to say that she improvises like a composer and composes like an improvising musician: ‘The process of composition is primarily about mastering form and contextualising elements – both the actual sounds and the formal units – musically,’ she says.