Anita Skorgan: “På gyllen grunn” (On golden ground)

Anita Skorgan and her unique band in Emanuel Vigeland’s universe

Anita Skorgan and Arve Henriksen (trumpet), Rolf Lislevand (lute), Eivind Aarseth (electric guitar) and Helge Norbakken (drums) have bowed their heads in homage to the ashes of the late artist Emanuel Vigeland and entered his wondrous world. 

This they did more or less literally. Vigeland's mausoleum is situated at Slemdal in Oslo, and his urn stands above the low door where he wanted it placed. Inside he created a room with incredibly powerful acoustics, where the walls and ceiling are decorated with his grand work "Vita" covering an incredible 800 square metres. Inside there is a sombre mystic atmosphere, surrounded by high walls decorated with human bodies from all the stages of life. Here these five musical artists created a CD with ten lyrics written by Erik Hillestad, inspired by the works of Vigeland. All the lyrics are written to old little-known Norwegian folk songs. The music is free and wildly imaginative, opening distant horizons to the listener. 

What we hear is a hymn to the cycle of life we are all part of: Creation, love, birth and death. The songs embrace the essence of life, our desires and longing, paying homage to the forces of life and death whose grip we are all inexorably in. A pervasive idea in Vigeland's work and in the lyrics is the idea that everything God created is pure.

The CD has been named "På gyllen grunn" [On golden ground], recalling a poem Vigeland wrote, and which in a modified form concludes the album. In addition to all the lyrics, the cover also provides many features of Vigeland's large fresco.

Track list:

1. Det går en elv                                                   5:17

2. Av kjærlighet                                                    3:25

3. Paradis senkes over jorden                             5:03

4. Alene Gud                                                         4:31

5. Frihet                                                                 4:56

6. I jordens dyp                                                     4:48

7. Vi er elskere                                                       3:41

8. Alt hva Gud har skapt er rent                          5:00

9. Dansen går i ring                                              3:24

10. På gyllen grunn                                               3:57