A collaborative project between singer Ruth Wilhelmine Meyer and organist Nils Henrik Asheim. Released on Kirkelig Kulturverksted and recorded in Pasłęk next to Gdansk in Poland. We chose this organ, which Andreas Hildebrandt from Gdansk built in the Bartolomeus-church i 1717-1719 as it is the biggest and best preserved baroque instrument in the northern part of Poland – consisting of 36 voices.
What is the sound of the North? What comes out of the vast landscape, the generous sense of time, (the innate) closeness to nature? Is there a need in our European culture to rediscover contact with the body as the source of artistic expression? The Norwegian duo Ruth Wilhelmine Meyer and Nils Henrik Asheim address precisely these questions in their project Vox Humana – a kind of “back to basics” in intuitive sound creation that speaks directly to the listener, behind the filter of classical conventions.
With melodic material from several of the world’s ancient sacred traditions, and with improvisation as a method, they develop two unique compositions where voice and organ merge into a new, potent mixture.
Meyer’s voice, with a range of more than six octaves, has assimilated vocal technical experiences from Norwegian folk music, classical and avantgarde techniques to throat singing and overtone singing, and Asheim’s use of the organ goes beyond the static and solemn: it is plastic, sculptural and colorful and sings freely with Meyer’s vocal timbre.
And what is more important in our time than giving free expiration to the human voice and its humanistic potential – Vox Humana.
