For a period of ten years, the Mikkelborg Riessler Siegel Trio gathered for an annual summer ritual under open skies in the iconic Sculpture Park at the prestigious Louisiana Museum of Modern Art north of Copenhagen. Here, a shared musical voice emerged, of electronic textures, new chamber music, and free improvisation, in a genre without a name, shaped by its surroundings and by time. Now, Dacapo Records is releasing the album Louisiana Ritual with the Danish-German-American trio.
Rhythms of nature and human fragility
‘In 2013, I was invited to perform in the museum park', says composer and musician Wayne Siegel. "On the same occasion, Palle Mikkelborg and Michael Riessler performed as a duo, and we were all accommodated in the museum’s boathouse, eating, drinking and hanging out. I don’t know if it was a secret intention to bring us together, but there was immediate chemistry’. Since then, these three distinctive musicians, each with their own career and musical style, have formed an unconventional constellation and developed a shared voice.
Louisiana Ritual brings together five works where the rhythms of nature, human fragility, and the presence of art merge into evocative sonic tableaux. Listen for example to Winter Sun, citing Oluf Ring's melancholic melody 'Sig nærmer tiden' (1922), or the Mikkelborg composition Song Tread Lightly, which has earlier been used for the memorial concert at Roskilde Festival in 2001, a year after the tragic festival accident in which nine young people lost their lives during a Pearl Jam concert.
Music shaped by art and nature
The conncetion to Louisiana has followed the trio all the way through. The album was recorded in the museum's Concert Hall and live in the Sculpture Park, and the trio has produced several music videos at the museum. The cover artwork features Poul Gernes' iconic Pyramid, which has accompanied several concerts and music videos through the years.
In the music and the videos one senses the powerful connection between the local nature, visual art, and the sonically evocative music, that greets the listener, revealing how deeply the physical surroundings are linked to the creation and expression of this music.
Free release event with museum access
On Tuesday 21 Otcober at 20.00, Louisiana and Dacapo Records are inviting you to a music evening in the museum's Boathouse, to celebrate the special connection between the museum and the three museums. You can experience an artist talk with Wayne Siegel and music journalist Thomas Michelsen, talking about the artistic collaboration, we'll listen to excerpts from the new album and enjoy a glass of wine in beautiful surroundings.
Admission is free (plus an adminstrative fee of DKK 10) and includes free access to the museum on the same day. Everyone is welcome, while registration is required. Read more here.