While living in Norway, this song was inescapable to the point of me really not giving a rat's ass about it every time it was played on the radio. However, distance has truly had an impact once again - and I asked for the CD for Christmas, and I believe this song is just about as perfect as can be. Sommerro's use of the Fender Rhodes is impeccable and the production of the original is very close and intimate. The walking basslines are hidden in the background of the mix on the YouTube version, but the oboe solo is still there. This version also adds the next song on the LP, which also is worth listening to, but not as perfect as the song Vårsøg itself. However, I prefer the original to the later remakes, so here it is, in all its glory.
Saturday, February 06, 2016
February 6 - Vårsøg
Elg i solnedgang (moose in sunset). Troll. Bunad (regionally determined national costume). Ibsen. Hamsun. Grieg. Munch. These are just some of the phrases and people that represent the most Norwegian of what's Norwegian. And then there is Vårsøg. It is a song, an album, and a band. And I don't quite understand the lyrics either, because the dialect it is sung in really is hard to understand - even though it is geographically fairly close to where I am from. It is one of the most Norwegian of Norwegian songs, and I do not hesitate to declare Henning Sommero, who is the composer of the song, a genius. Hans Hyldbakk wrote the lyrics, and while I don't understand every word, there is no mistaking this for a song that longs for summer (and it works as an allegory for the freedom Hyldbakk was longing for as Norway was occupied by Germany when the poem was written).
While living in Norway, this song was inescapable to the point of me really not giving a rat's ass about it every time it was played on the radio. However, distance has truly had an impact once again - and I asked for the CD for Christmas, and I believe this song is just about as perfect as can be. Sommerro's use of the Fender Rhodes is impeccable and the production of the original is very close and intimate. The walking basslines are hidden in the background of the mix on the YouTube version, but the oboe solo is still there. This version also adds the next song on the LP, which also is worth listening to, but not as perfect as the song Vårsøg itself. However, I prefer the original to the later remakes, so here it is, in all its glory.
While living in Norway, this song was inescapable to the point of me really not giving a rat's ass about it every time it was played on the radio. However, distance has truly had an impact once again - and I asked for the CD for Christmas, and I believe this song is just about as perfect as can be. Sommerro's use of the Fender Rhodes is impeccable and the production of the original is very close and intimate. The walking basslines are hidden in the background of the mix on the YouTube version, but the oboe solo is still there. This version also adds the next song on the LP, which also is worth listening to, but not as perfect as the song Vårsøg itself. However, I prefer the original to the later remakes, so here it is, in all its glory.
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