It is an adventure to immerse oneself in the Norwegian treasury of song. There is so much magnificent music, and so much of it bears witness to the time in which it was written. It tells which poets were setting the tone, how strong were the influences from European musical life, or whether the composer looked more to what Norwegian traditional music had to offer. The songs on this release - volume 1 - are all songs that were published during Sigurd Lie's lifetime. Apart from the "super hit" Sne (Snow), with which the album begins, the songs follow in chronological order. There are texts from Vilhelm Krag, Theodor Caspari and Per Sivle, all well-known and acclaimed lyric poets whose verse has been set to music by many other Norwegian composers. But we also find a large number of texts by Helge Rode and Idar Handagard, who are lesser known. Idar Handagard (1874-1959) was a doctor, botanist, writer and poet, while Helge Rode (1870-1937) was a Danish poet and writer whose verse was also set to music by Carl Nielsen. MARIANNE BEATE KIELLAND - MEZZO-SOPRANO "A singer with such charisma challenged her colleagues." (Dreh-Punkt-Kultur) Mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland is famous for her strong stage presence and musical integrity. Gramophone Magazine writes about her: "The mezzo-soprano is quite outstanding: strong, firm, sensitive in modulations, imaginative in her treatment of words, with a voice pure in quality, wide in range and unfalteringly true in intonation." NILS ANDERS MORTENSEN - PIANO Mortensen has appeared as soloist with Norway's leading orchestras. He recorded piano concertos of Geirr Tveitt with Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. His first solo album Im Freien (LWC1032), featuring music of Debussy, Grieg, and Bartok, was released in 2012 to glowing reviews. Mortensen has also released eleven recordings with mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland on the LAWO Classics label.