SONGS FROM A CHANGING EVENING LAND

A PER NØRGÅRD TRIBUTE

ABOUT THE FILM

Songs from a Changing Evening Land” is a music film, made in collaboration with Hehku Ensemble, director and photographer Rune Mielonen Grassov and recording producer Daniel Davidsen, celebrating the mesmerizing and enigmatic, Danish composer Per Nørgård in the year of his 90th birthday in 2022.

The film is a piece of cinepoetry based on Nørgårds ”Songs from Evening Land” with poetry by Swedish writer Pär Lagerkvist (1891-1974), circling feelings of loneliness, gratefulness, melancholy, hope and the evening of life. Nørgård set Lagerkvists existential pondering to music in 1956, when he was only 24 - the same age as the musicians in Hehku Ensemble were at the time of the recording.

The film is partly shot in Per Nørgårds composers cabin in Langeland, Denmark in dialogue with Nørgård and his family. Hehku Ensemble even performed the piece, with Nørgård in the front row, in an intimate concert at his elderly home prior to the recording.

The main purpose of the film is to pay tribute to the mystical, humorous and brilliant composer that is Per Nørgård, as well as to this youth work of his, while also shedding light on the changes in society and music that have taken place since the birth of the piece. The words, thoughts and musical material of ”Songs from Evening Land” is, however, still of great significance today, and serves as a reminder that the time we have in our earthly home is limited and precious.In this rendition of ”Songs from Evening Land”, a new generation of musicians present their interpretation of and dedication to the piece, with middle aged director Rune Mielonen Grassov connecting the eyes of different generations.

The ensemble consists of Aliisa Neige Barrière (conductor), Christina af Klinteberg Herresthal (mezzo soprano), Isabelle Bania (violin), Michael Grolid (viola), Theodor Lyngstad (cello), Kaja Marie Andersen (flute) and Claire Moncharmont (harp). The film is produced by Millimeter Media and the sound is recorded in Dolby Atmos Surround 7.1.4 Sound by Daniel Davidsen and 3CSound.

Director: Rune Mielonen Grassov

Producers: Christina af Klinteberg Herresthal + Rune Mielonen Grassov

Sound Recording Producer: Daniel Davidsen

Cinematography: Rune Mielonen Grassov

Editor: Rune Mielonen Grassov

Colorist: Rasmus Hedin