We are working on our lates project, Presque Rien, for ensemble and electronics. It is based on field recordings and instrumental recordings from outdoor performances at Veierland, a small roadless island outside Tønsberg, Norway. Changing sonic scenarios are captured and manipulated live, woven into the subtle performance of the four instrumentalists. Check out an excerpt available here ->
Presque rien !!
LEMUR return to Glasgow to lead this year’s Cramb Residency, in conjunction with Nordic Music Days.
During their time at the University from the 8-9 May 2024 , they will perform in the University Chapel on Wednesday 8 May and host an open workshop and discussion on Thursday 9 May
On Wednesday 8 May, they will perform twice – joining the end of Kevin Bowyer’s organ recital (6pm) before, after a short break, their own set at 7.30pm.
On the afternoon of Thursday 9 May, they will take over the music building at 14 University Gardens for a discussion of their work, followed by a short break and some site-specific workshops in different parts of the building.
Lemur teams up with Caput Ensemble for the premiere of Critical Bands!
The performance is part of the Erkiti∂ festival in Reykjavik.
Lemur and Friends will perform in Sasha Waltz / Terri Riley’s In C, a choreographic continuation of the democratic principles of this minimalist score. Sasha Waltz has transferred the concept to dance, creating 53 movement phrases for use in a structured improvisation with clear rules, echoing the structure of the musical score.
CRITICAL BANDS is the culmination of Lemur’s decade-long exploration of physical, abstract, and ephemeral sonic spaces. Recorded by more than fifty musicians in different sites and configurations across several countries, the album exposes deep layers of sonic exploration. Complex instrumental materials are captured and filtered through different architectonic spaces, revealing a modular, site-specific composition practice.
The album was recorded in Nidarosdomen (Trondheim), Korskirken (Bergen), Sofienberg kirke (Oslo), LiteraturHaus (Copenhagen), Notam (Oslo), Harpa (Reykjavik), and Athletic Sound (Halden) and subsequently combined, edited and re-composed by the ensemble.
The work is realized with performances from outstanding musicians from Norway and abroad:
Bjørnar Habbestad (flutes), Hild Sofie Tafjord (horn), Lene Grenager (cello), Michael Francis Duch (double bass), Dirk Bruinsma (soprano sax), Eivind Lønning (trumpet), Morten Barrikmo (clarinets), Tanja Orning (cello) and Robin Hayward (tuba), Anders Rove, Jostein Bolås Brødreskift, David Andersson, Björn Petersson, Morten Berger Stai, Kristian B. Jacobsen (double bass), Ellen Holmås, Astrid Solberg, Astri Hoffmann-Tollaas, Johannes Borchgrevink, Marianne Baudouin Lie (cello), Daniel Formo (organ) Lotte Anker, Torben Snekkestad (sax), Liza Gibbs (oboe) and Anna Klett (clarinet). Robin Hayward, Martin Taxt and Peder Simonsen (microtonal tubas). Ole Henrik Moe (violin, viola, piccolo violin and Octobass) and Kari Rønnekleiv (violin).
Recorded by Thorolf Thuestad, Bjørnar Habbestad, Lene Grenager, Thomas Hukkelberg, John Hegre, Tor Breivik and Christian Obermayer.
Edited by Thorolf Thuestad and Christian Obermeyer.
Produced by Bjørnar Habbestad and Lene Grenager.
A sonic superimposition for amplified soloist quartet, sinfonietta and electronics.
Premiered at the Erkiti∂ festival in Reykjavik, november 2023. Caput ensemble, conducted by Gu∂ni Franzson.
Critical Bands IIa extends the investigation Lemur began with Critical Band in 2012 — a site-specific work built around the acoustics of large reverberant rooms — into a new setting: a fixed quartet part superimposed on recorded and processed material drawn from the Critical Bands recording project, layered live against a scored, full sinfonietta.
The piece premiered at the Erkiti∂ festival in Reykjavik in November 2023, performed by the Caput ensemble under conductor Guðni Franzson.
Lemur joins forces with fellow musicians from Ensemble NEON, asamisimasa and Aksiom in a pumping rendering of Terry Rileys In C.
The minimalist masterpiece of 1964 is the backbone of Sasha Waltz’ new coreography. Together with her dancers she developed choreographic material in similarly variable structure, always leaving room for new variations. This is an experimental, constantly evolving process that once again reconceives and refines Sasha Waltz & Guests’ long-standing approach as well as the dialogue between dance, music and space. The piece is performed by Nagelhus Schia Productions, with members from Sasha Waltz and guests.
Lemur with friends:
Bjørnar Habbestad, flute
Hanne Rekdal, flute
Hild Sofie Tafjord, horn
Inga Byrkjeland, cello
Jonas Cambien, piano
Michael Francis Duch, bass
Morten Barrikmo, clarinets
Silje Aker Johnsen, soprano
Solmund Nystabakk, guitar
Huset spiller!
Bomuldsfabriken kunsthall
27. October 2018
Huset spiller! – or House music! brings together children, young people and professional artists in a large-scale happening organised by the music collective LEMUR. This is the third time that Bomuldsfabriken kunsthall and LEMUR have organised a creative meeting across art forms and age groups.
The production incorporates dancer and choreographer Siri Jøntvedt, visual artist Ellen Røed, composers Thorolf Thuestad and Jon Halvor Bjørnseth, and LEMUR’s Bjørnar Habbestad (flutes), Hild Sofie Tafjord (horn), Lene Grenager (cello) and Michael Duch (double bass), all interacting with children and young people aged 4 to 19. This year’s version has been composed for and with Bomuldsfabrikens spaces, in collaboration with Villa Mathilda kindergarten and music, dance and drama students from Dahlske upper secondary school in Grimstad.
