Sigmund Groven is as busy as ever and in March this year he recorded a new album together with Ivar Anton Waagaard, Songs for harmonica. A collection of compositions by Kristian Lindeman with the unimitable touch of Norway’s harmonica master.
2019 – Songs for harmonica (Artwork by Max Franosch.)
On this album, the harmonica’s grand ambassador Sigmund Groven presents his take on music written by Kristian Lindeman. In a duet with Groven’s close collaborator throughout 30 years, Ivar Anton Waagaard, they present beautiful melodies with refined harmony. Groven plays the dreamy melodies with the presence and ease that created his international carrier. The harmonica and the piano embrace each other in a way only 30 years of making music together can evoke.
Album facts:
- 14 tracks, recorded on March 14th and 15th, 2019 in NRK’s studio in Oslo
- Musicians: Sigmund Groven (Polle Concert Harmonica), Ivar Anton Waagaard (Steinway D-Grand Piano)
- All tracks composed by Kristian Lindeman, including two songs written for Sigmund
- Released by Grappa on CD and digitally as files on September 20th, 2019
Track list:
- Sommerflørt (Summer Flirt)
- Letter to George
- Elegi (Elegy)
- Lokk (A Shepherd´s Song)
- Liden Kirsten (Little Kirsten)
- Der skreg en fugl (A Bird´s Cry)
- Lite stykke (Small Piece)
- Sommerfugl (Butterfly)
- Nocturne
- Champs-Élysées
- Wedding Psalm
- Romantikk (Romance)
- Bånsull (Lullaby)
- Ridder Sigmund (Sigmund the Knight)
The tracks were written for different occasions over many years, often for other instruments than the harmonica. The arrangements on the album are new for this recording, which is produced by Kristian Lindeman, Helge Lindeman, Sigmund Groven and Morten Hermansen.
Ivar Anton Waagaard, Sigmund Groven, Kristian Lindeman.
About Kristian Lindeman
A Norwegian music producer, record company executive, singer, composer, and music radio host. Born on November 22, 1942, he comes from a prominent Norwegian musical family. His great-great-grandfather, Ole Andreas Lindeman, was an organist and composer – the 250th anniversary of his birth is officially celebrated in Norway in 2019. Kristian’s great-grandfather, Ludvig Mathias Lindeman, was also a famous organist, composer, and an avid collector of folk music.
Kristian Lindeman followed his family’s musical tradition: In his youth, he composed popular music songs for a variety of Norwegian artists, and he also had his own vocal groups, specializing in the vocal styles of The Four Freshmen and The Hi-Lo’s. From 1974 – 1986, Lindeman was the head of the Artists & Repertoire Department for CBS Records Norway, and from 1986 – 2004 he was the host for many musical radio programs for NRK. As a singer and producer, Lindeman has worked with a large number of Norwegian and foreign artists, in addition to releasing two CDs of his own music; Lindeman Light (1992) and Songs for Piano (2004).
He has participated in the Norwegian final of the Eurovision Song Contest seven times and, as a composer, in 1974 he won the “World Popular Song Contest” held in Tokyo, Japan. In addition, he twice won the “Work of the Year” prize, awarded by the Norwegian music organization NOPA.
The album can be purchased as a CD from Grappa or downloaded/streamed from digital platforms.