Magne H. Draagen - Canto Ergo Sum - Jeg Synger - Altså Er Jeg (2009)

When the time came for Benjamin to find a title for this CD, he suddenly lit on the idea of putting a slightly new twist on Descartes’ famous maxim on doubting, thinking, and being. You see, singing for Benjamin is about being alive, being free, fully realizing himself. He sings, therefore he is. “When I sing,” Benjamin says, “I feel an inner calm, as though I am floating, floating in full control.” The CD presents a broad repertoire within the classical music genre with reference both to musical periods and to language and tradition. Descartes proceeded from doubt to thought and concluded that he existed. Good art which survives does not create itself. Art is born out of a disruption we may call doubt. The musical works presented here originate perhaps from a different kind of doubt and inner struggle than that with which Descartes was so absorbed. Yet, the sustainability of the songs suggests that they are capable of encompassing doubt and disruption in a way that can also fortify us and give us life. These pieces leave us with the feeling of being alive.

Benjamin Isachsen, boys-soprano
Berit Cardas, violin
Magne H. Draagen, organ