Premiere of “Can you hear me?”

The Vestfold-based chamber ensemble Ensemble Kammerklang has commissioned a piece that will be performed twice this weekend. This is the premiere, taking place in Tønsberg. Throughout the process, the piece was given the working title “Tåkelur” (“Fog Horn”), but in the end, it was named “Can you hear me? (salt water variations).”

From the project description:
My piece for Ensemble Kammerklang draws inspiration from the most quintessential aspect of Vestfold—its proximity to the sea and maritime life. I am inspired by my own family history: my father’s childhood rowing trips to visit his grandmother, my grandfather’s background in whaling, my great-grandfathers’ work as a maritime pilot, and my ancestors’ involvement in ship trading.

The other inspiration is sounds connected to the sea—in addition to wave sounds and underwater recordings, I think of the song created by masts and wires in a marina in heavy winds or a sound that has disappeared from the Vestfold coastline—the foghorns of lighthouses.