Jeremy Soule - The Northerner Diaries Symphonic Sketches (2018)

As a composer and performer, The Northerner Diaries are my virtual orchestral and choir “sketches” as I work towards the completion of my Symphony 1. These recordings represent wild and unfiltered ideas created in the same vein as concept art you might see from an artist prior to the commencement of an oil painting. At this stage, I have not paid any attention to structural and compositional forms as abstraction from “ginnung” or the “mighty void” is never a predictable process.

But, I am fortunate to have been born in an era of computers that give sound to my notes and this, for me, is inspiring. And while the musical instruments and vocal sounds are computer generated, I performed each instrument and vocal using specialized software, digital keyboards and control interfaces. This process required me to play each element individually, one by one, while I recorded into a multi-track digital audio workstation.

My interest in Scandinavian stories began decades ago. And looking back, I suppose it all started with my exposure to the music of the composers of the region. Of course, Sibelius and Nielsen are giants to me. But living composers such as Jukka Linkola have inspired me as well.

I’ve also spent the last several years of this project studying Old Norse lore. But finding stories to weld into music turned out to be a greater challenge than I had anticipated. First, the language barrier between English and Old Norse is large. And secondly, there are many dialects of Old Norse. I’m thankful for my Icelandic friends that have helped me in working with these texts, but I still have much to learn.

Nevertheless, The Northerner is a journey for me and as I push myself, I am finding that there is always a new way to see this world. Truly, the North is a remarkable place. In my studies of masters such as Vigeland or the prose of the mythological Odin, I’m continually fascinated by what I learn from my neighbors in the North.

I’m grateful for your support of The Northerner project. Thank you for taking this journey with me. I hope you enjoy The Northerner Diaries!

- Jeremy Soule