LIKE A FLAME

»Like a Flame« Album Liner Notes (excerpt)

»On December 22nd, 2009 I began recording what was to become the album "Like a Flame", on a brand new pipe organ. This marked the culmination of 5 years of work, which started when I was hired in 2004 to create the specifications and tonal design for a new organ in Jørlunde church, an 11th century church near Copenhagen, Denmark.

As realized by organ builders Frobenius the instrument brings into reality my ideas and wishes for a pipe organ of its particular size. The music I recorded was made in symbiosis with the instrument. The instrument became an extension of my musical thoughts, and at the same time my thoughts were extended by the instrument.

Over the course of two days I played a total of 60 improvisations, 23 of which I have selected and meticulously sorted into this musical and mental journey.

I recorded, highly focused and with a bare minimum of breaks, for more than ten hours straight each day. With exception of "To Become" (which is only partly an improvisation) all music was composed from scratch during the recording sessions, and is presented here unedited as a one take live recording. I'm currently (as of October 2010) in the process of writing down all the works.

For me the experience became what can be characterized as psychedelic, completely and utterly withdrawn from the world outside (while outside the church walls, the worst snowstorm in many years raged - making the real world itself seem like a fantasy in many ways. It took me several weeks to recover both physically and mentally from this experience.

The result is music created with no expectations from anyone, not even myself, because I was so withdrawn from the world whilst composing/improvising. I simply "let the music out" working together with the organ, allowing the pieces to come to life. And alive they came, each like a being with an individual story to tell. Filled with different emotions: joy, hate, love, anger, despair, sorrow, hope, but having one main purpose: to become.

I have combined the music into a story spanning the two CDs. A story of restless, sometimes tortured, minds on a journey somewhere between the unreal and the all too real. This space does not allow me to go into detail about each work, but the titles will provide clues. I present you with a group of individualists, over which I can only pretend to have control. However, the final word lies with you - the listener.«

- Frederik Magle

»Faeries, come take me out of this dull world,
For I would ride with you upon the wind,
Run on the top of the dishevelled tide,
And dance upon the mountains like a flame!«

- William Butler Yeats, "The Land of Heart's Desire"

Album Credits:

Technical Details for Audiophiles

The double album "Like a Flame" is recorded in 24bit audio, using a pair of DPA 4040 gold microphones (limited edition model, 100 pairs made), with their matching calibrated tube-amplifier directly connected to a reference class A/D converter for audiophile level sound quality.