Our music is composed by Ragnhild Vaishnavi

. It is very focused on giving fair and loyale surroundings to the poetry involved. This because one cannot just take what other people have made and use it just any old way without respect for their work. So far the morale of the concept. More important is how the music has been created around the lyrics, thus hopefully creating a meaningfull symbiosis between word and music.

Why almost all the poems are being used in their original language

Every language has its own temperament, its own rhythms and melodies in the words and sentences and the language itself. This, combined with the fact that every author or poet has his/her own way of expressing him-/herself, making use of the rhythmic and melodic possibilities of his/her mother tongue, provides the composer with a lot of free inspiration as to what form the music should have and what retorics should be used to express the, after all, most important thing: the message.

Elemental, isn't it, my dear Watson? You have probably figured out this principle already, all by yourself. Nevertheless, this is the way our composer works with the lyrics within the Stilleben-concept, and this is why she generally refuses to work with translated lyrics, in spite of the obvious obstacles regarding conveying messages/foreign languages/people neglecting to bring their dictionaries to concerts etcetera...

Why the simplicity and transparency is an ideal

There are three reasons for this. The first is, that R.Vaishnavi is very much taken in by the slender, strong architecture found in gothic churches and the music of Bach, where there is no reduntant elements and the construction seems so frail and yet is so strong. In a modest attempt to live and work by this ideal, Ragnhild therefore spends quite some time erasing after composing. The other reason should be obvious: there are only three of us! Our possibilities in each one of us carrying several voices are limited. We may as well try to do a lot with a little. The third reason is, of course, that the lyrics, the poetry, requires some space, and should not have to fight for the attention.

Is the music regarded as absolute music, or as merely a soundtrack to the lyrics?

Even just by how this question is put, you will supposedly already have a clue as to what the answer will be.
Authonomy? Absolutely.

Discography - stand by to be impressed!

1998:

"Från en stygg flicka"

Published by The Siste Liten Prod.; recorded at MIT Studio by Roger Valstad summer 1997.

...be so kind as to remember this: